Cahill's read the 39 Clues
by BookWorm4Life12
Summary: Unknown house in an unknown place, with unknown books, and unknown cameras. What should the Cahill's expect when they're kidnapped by the Cahill's a month after the Clue Hunt? Title explains it all, sorry for sucky summary, and yes, I know I have more stories to work on, but I'm too nice when people ask me to write stories. Genre Romance for later :D
1. I'M ON A BOOK!

**Chapter 1**

"Get your hands off of me!" Ian barked as the two men escorted him into the room along with the other Cahill's from the Clue Hunt except Irina and Alistair. Well, it wasn't really an escort; more like an ordered deal.

"When I get out of this, my dad is _so _going to kill you!" Madison Holt yelled, kicking and trying to punch her way out. The two men had picked her, Jonah (because of his leg), Reagan, Natalie, and Dan up and carried them over their shoulders like a bag of potatoes. They were dragging the others by their arms while their feet were shackled together. The ones who were carried were shackled on their feet and cuffed by their wrists, except Jonah, who was held by two guys.

The men, all nineteen of them, threw them all in a room onto the floor. Jonah landed on Hamilton with a _THUD! _Hamilton gasped and rolled Jonah off of him with his broken leg. Jonah cussed and laid there in pain. Two of the guys snatched Natalie up and slammed her in the wall. She let out a yelp.

"LET HER GO!" Ian yelled, fighting to get out of the chains.

The man pulled out a set of keys.

"Hold your hands out," he ordered.

Natalie held out her hands and the man unlocked her chains. She looked at him in shock as he unlocked her shackles on her ankles while the other man held her up. Once the shackles were off, they set her down. She looked in complete shock.

"I – I thought you were Vespers," she said to one of the men.

He smiled as they took of Madison's shackles. "No, that is actually the exact opposite. We're Cahill's, but we're like the… hm, how should I put it..."

"Let's just say we're the ones that hunt people down," one of the others said.

"You're going to kill us?" Dan said.

The man laughed. "If necessary, we can; but we have orders just to bring you here."

"Where exactly is 'here'?" Sinead asked, sitting up.

The men looked at each other. After a minute of mumbling, they said it was classified. Once the rest of the chains were off, the men left, locking the doors behind them. Amy walked around looking when she found a note on what looked like a dining room table built just for them, considering it had eleven chairs with branch symbols carved in front of them, obviously by a Janus, and names under the crest.

She picked up the note and read it silently in her head:

_Dear Cahill's, Kabra's Starling's, Wizard's, and Holt's,_

_You all are probably wondering why you're here. Our branch secrets are out. Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis – three Janus operatives – Patrick Carmen, Linda Sue Parks – Lucian – Jude Watson, and Margaret Peterson Haddix – two Ekaterina agents – have spill our secrets about the Clue Hunt to the rest of the world. So, after three days of arguing, a toaster fight, and a broken nail, the leaders of all of the branches decided to get you to read the books together. Food is in the kitchen and once you get tired we have assigned you all bedrooms (and yes, you will have to share)._

_Sincerely, the branch leaders_

"What's that?" Ian asked.

Amy jumped and spun around. "Don't do that!" she said, handing them the note. "You know I hate that."

Ian read the note and she saw him stiffen. He laid the note back down and picked up the first book, _The Maze of Bones. _He flipped it over and laughed. He showed Amy the picture of her and Dan on the back. Her cheeks turned red.

"How –"she started, but stopped when the others came in.

"Oh my God, Ian, you have a book in your hand!" Natalie said.

"So?" Ian said dismissively.

"I didn't know you could read!"

Amy snickered. Ian gave her a look like "Seriously?" but she just shrugged. Dan saw the book and took it out of Ian's hands. He studied it for a minute with his thinking face before he said anything.

"Why does this sound like the catacombs in Paris?" Dan said, looking at Amy.

Her and Ian exchanged looks. Then, Amy smiled and looked at Dan.

"Turn it over."

Dan flipped over the book and began jumping up and down. "I'M ON A BOOK!"

Natalie snatched it out of his hands. "Give me that! I bet you that's just a look alike."

"Please, that's obviously them," Hamilton said, taking the book. He looked up at them. "When did you guys pose for this?"

"We didn't," they said simultaneously.

"Well, it's horrid," Natalie said.

"It's actually a good picture, except that Dan's going all ninja," Sinead said.

"Oh, of course, the skulls and bones hovering around them are pretty good, too, by the way."

Madison took the book from Hamilton and fanned the pages. "Well?" she said. "What are we waiting for? Let's read it!"

* * *

The eleven teenagers sat around the table where their names were. Amy had the seat next to Ian, so she prayed that the time in the cave wasn't in this book. They all decided Amy should read, but when she glanced at the first chapter, she handed it to someone else.

"Next chapter," she promised as she handed it to Hamilton.

He opened the book and began:

**Five minutes before she died, Grace Cahill changed her will.**

"Oh," Dan said, glancing at Amy for a split second. His face went sad and Natalie, sitting next to him, got that awkward look on her face when she didn't know what to say which was uncommon.

**Her lawyer brought out the alternate version, which had been her most guarded secret for seven years. Whether or not she would actually be crazy enough to use it, William McIntyre had never been certain. **

"Yep," Dan said. "Grace was crazy."

"**Madam," he asked, "are you sure?"**

**Grace gazed out the window, across the sunlit meadows of her estate. Her cat, Saladin, snuggled beside her as he had throughout her illness, but his presence was not enough to comfort her today. She was about to set in motion events that might cause the end of civilization.**

"Hey!" Dan said. "We didn't end the world!"

"Will you shut up?" Sinead said. "I want to hear this."

"**Yes, William." Her every breath was painful. "I'm sure."**

"**William broke the seal on the brown leather folder. He was a tall craggy man. His nose was pointed like a sundial so it always cast a shadow over one side of his face. **

Amy and Dan smiled at the description of Mr. McIntyre, because that's exactly how he looked.

**He had been Grace's adviser, her closest confidant, for half her life. They'd shared many secrets over the years, but none as perilous as this.**

**He held the document for her to review. A fit of coughing wracked her body. Saladin meowed with concern. Once the coughing passed, William helped her take the pen. She scrawled her weak signature across the paper.**

"**They're so young," William lamented. "If only their parents –"**

Dan and Amy exchanged looks.

"Can we skip this chapter?" Dan grumbled.

"It's almost over," Hamilton said. "It's, like, one more page."

Dan muttered something about how he was going to light the page on fire, but they didn't say anything.

"**But their parents didn't," Grace said bitterly. "And now the children must be old enough. They are our only chance."**

"**If they don't succeed –"**

"But they did," Jonah said.

"**Then five hundred years of work have been for nothing," Grace said. "Everything collapses. The family, the world – all of it."**

"No pressure or anything," Natalie said.

**William nodded grimly. He took the folder from her hands.**

**Grace sat back, stroking Saladin's silver fur. The scene outside the window made her sad. It was too gorgeous a day to die. She wanted to have one last picnic with the children. **

Amy gripped her arms and stared at the table.

**She wanted to be young and strong and travel the world again.**

**But her eyesight was failing. Her lungs labored. She clutched her jade necklace – a good luck talisman she'd found in china years ago.**

Amy looked down at her necklace. She thought, _Mr. McIntyre didn't tell me she DIED in this necklace! _

**It had seen her through many close calls with death, many luck misses. But the talisman couldn't help her anymore.**

**She'd worked hard to prepare for this day. Still, there was so much she'd left undone… so much she had never told the children.**

"Why did they make us read SAD books?" Natalie said.

"If it makes you feel better, you're in it," Madison said.

"But why'd they put me in a sad book!"

Sinead, Ned, and Ted shushed them.

"**It will have to be enough," she whispered. **

**And with that, Grace Cahill closed her eyes for the last time.**

Everyone glance over at Amy and Dan. Dan seemed mad; Amy seemed sad. Hamilton stopped the awkward silence.

"There's like this line thingy after that then more words," he said.

"Well then read it!" Madison and Reagan said.

**When he was sure Grace had passed away, William McIntyre went to the window and closed the curtains. William preferred darkness. It seemed more proper for the business at hand. **

"It's not business," Dan said. "She's dead; you can't make a deal and bring them back!"

**The door opened behind him. Grace's cat hissed and disappeared under the bed.**

"Fiske," the whole table said simultaneously.

**William didn't look back. He was staring at Grace Cahill's signature on her new will, which had just become the most important document in the Cahill family's history. **

"**Well?" a **

"Brusquege?" Hamilton asked, looking at the book like it was an idiot.

Jonah, who was sitting next to him, looked at the book. "Brusque."

**brusque voice said. **

**William turned. A man stood in the doorway, his face obscured by the shadows, his suit as black as oil.**

"**It's time," William said. "Make sure they suspect nothing."**

"Oh, but we did!" Dan said.

**William couldn't tell for sure, but he thought the man in black smiled. **

"**Don't worry," the man promised. "They'll never have a clue."**

"That last joke was so cheesy," Jonah said.

Hamilton slid the book to Amy from the other side of the table.

"Your turn."

_**A/N: Ok, someone who asked me not to say their name asked me to do this story. So, yea, i have no idea why they didn't want me to say their name. **_


	2. Don't Call Me DANIEL!

**Chapter 2**

"Now?" Amy asked.

"Yep," Jonah said.

She sighed. "Ok."

**Dan Cahill thought he had the most annoying big sister on the planet. And that was **_**before **_**she set fire to two million dollars.**

Amy glared at Dan. "I can say the same for you too, brother dear."

Amy smirked; Dan glared. "Read," he growled.

**It all started when they went to their grandmother's funeral. Secretly, Dan was excited, because he was hoping to make a rubbing of the tomb stone after everyone else was gone. **

"DAN!" everyone yelled. Natalie slapped his shoulder.

Dan's face turned red. "What? I was obsessed with those!"

"You still are," Amy said.

"I didn't get one, now did I?"

**He figured Grace wouldn't care. She'd been a cool grandmother. **

**Dan loved collecting things. He collected baseball cards, autographs of famous outlaws, Civil War weapons, rare coins, and every cast he'd ever had since kindergarten (all twelve of them). **

"EW!" Natalie squealed.

Dan covered his ears. "A little _warning _next time?"

"That's _disgusting, _Daniel!"

"Hold. Up. One: no, it's not; a lot of people keep them and two: DON'T CALL ME DANIEL!"

There was a glaring contest between them. Natalie hissed, and Dan jumped back. Natalie smiled with delight, and Amy continued.

**At the moment what he liked collecting best were charcoal rubbings of tombstones. He had some awesome ones back at the apartment. His favorite read:**

**PRUELLA GOODE**

**1891-1929**

**I'M DEAD. LET'S HAVE A PARTY.**

"That's still awesome," Dan said, daydreaming about the tombstone.

**He figured if he had a rubbing of Grace's tombstone in his collection, maybe it wouldn't feel quite so much like she was gone forever.**

**Anyway, the whole way from Boston to the funeral in Bristol County, his great-aunt Beatrice was driving like a very slow lunatic. **

"I bet she still is," Dan said. "I wonder what she's doing without us."

"Do you really care?" Amy asked.

"No, it just sounded like a good thing to say."

**She went twenty-five miles an hour on the highway and kept drifting across lanes so the other cars honked and swerved and ran into guard rails and stuff. **

Dan started laughing at thinking about that time when she got in the fight with the driver of the 18-wheeler.

**Aunt Beatrice just kept clutching the wheel with her jeweled fingers. Her wrinkly face was made up with Day-Glo red lipstick and rouge, which made her blue hair look even bluer. Dan wondered if she gave the other drivers nightmares about old clowns. **

Hamilton stared at the table as if thinking about Aunt Beatrice as a clown. His eyes got big as he thought about it.

"**Amy!" she snapped, as another SUV careened down the exit ramp because Beatrice had just pulled in front of it. "Stop reading in the car! It's not safe!"**

"**But, Aunt Beatrice –"**

"**Young lady, close that book!" **

"No, Amy, she sounds like this" – Dan changed his voice to a squawky bird voice – "YOUNG LADY CLOSE THAT BOOK!"

"Oh God, that lady gave me the creeps," Hamilton said. "I had nightmares about her for weeks when I was six."

**Amy did, which was typical. She never put up a fight with adults. Amy had long reddish-brown hair, unlike Dan's, which was dark blond. This helped Dan pretend his sister was an alien imposter**

"I am _not _an alien imposter," Amy said.

"Well…."

Natalie flicked him in the back of the head.

**but unfortunately they had the same eyes – green like jade, their grandmother used to say. **

**Amy was three years old and six inches taller than Dan, and she never let him forget it – like being fourteen was such a big deal. **

"Just to be specific," Dan grumbled.

**Usually, she wore jeans and some old t-shirt because she didn't like people noticing her, but today she was wearing a black dress so she looked like a vampire's bride.**

Sinead gasped. "That's what I should be for Halloween!"

"You still dress up?" Natalie asked.

"Well, duh!"

**Dan hoped her outfit was as uncomfortable as his stupid suit and tie. Aunt Beatrice had thrown a fit when he tried to go to the funeral in his ninja clothes. It wasn't as if Grace would care if he was comfortable and deadly, the way he felt when he pretended to be a ninja, but of course Aunt Beatrice didn't understand. **

"Nice," Hamilton said, giving Dan a fist pound.

**Sometimes it was hard for him to believe she and Grace were sisters.**

"**Remind me to fire you au pair as soon as we return to Boston," Beatrice grumbled. "You two have been entirely too spoiled."**

"Nellie?" Ian asked.

"Just listen!" Madison said. "None of you know when to shut up!"

"**Nellie's nice!" Dan protested. **

"**Hmph! This **_**Nellie **_**almost let you burn down the neighbor's apartment building!"**

"**Exactly!"**

**Every couple of weeks, Beatrice fired their au pair and hired a new one. The only good thing was that Aunt Beatrice didn't live with them personally. She lived across town in a building that didn't allow kids, so sometimes it took her a few days to hear about Dan's latest exploits. **

"That sucks," Jonah said.

"You have no idea," Dan said in his usual voice when he talks about Beatrice.

**Nellie had lasted longer than most. Dan likes her because she made amazing waffles and she usually cranked up her iPod to brain-damage level. She didn't even hear when Dan's bottle rocket collection went off and strafed the building across the alley. Dan would miss Nellie when she got fired.**

"Wait, Nellie got fired?" Reagan said. "I thought she was your guardian!"

"No!" Madison said. "She is! This is before the Clue Hunt!"

"Oh."

**Aunt Beatrice kept driving and muttering about spoiled children. **

"YE OLD WITCH!" Dan yelled.

"A little bit of _warning, Daniel?" _Natalie said, glaring at him.

"DON'T CALL ME DANIEL!"

**Amy secretly went back to her huge book. The last two days, since they got the news about Grace's death, Amy had been reading even more than usual. Dan knew it was her way of hiding, but he kind of resented it because it shut him out, too.**

"**What are you reading this time?" he asked. "**_**Medieval European Doorknobs? Bath Towels Through the Ages?"**_

**Amy gave him an ugly face – or an uglier-than-usual face.**

Amy reached over, grabbed the second book, and threw it at Dan's head. "Dweeb."

"**None of your business, dweeb."**

"Wow, some things never change," Dan taunted, rubbing his head from the book.

Amy reached over towards the other one, but Ian caught her wrist before she could throw it. "There's only ten and you're at three. Save them for later."

"THANKS!" Dan said sarcastically.

"**You can't call a ninja lord **_**dweeb**_**. You have disgraced the family. You must commit seppuku."**

"Amy's right," Reagan said. "You are a dweeb."

Dan rolled his eyes while Amy smirked.

**Amy rolled her eyes. **

**After a few more miles, the city melted into the farmland. It started to look like Grace country, and even though Dan had promised himself he wouldn't get sappy, he began to feel sad.**

"Don't even start, Natalie!" he said before she could even begin.

**Grace had been the coolest ever. She'd treated him and Amy like real people, not kids. That's why she'd insisted the simply call her Grace, not Grandmother or gran or Nana or any silly name like that. She'd been one of the only people who'd ever cared about them. Now she was dead, and they had to go to the funeral and see a bunch of relatives who had **_**never **_**been nice to them…**

"Oh, come on!" Hamilton said. "Some of us were nice to you before then!"

"When?" Amy asked.

"When Ian spilt caviar on my doll house so I wouldn't want it and gave it to you because Beatrice wouldn't get you many toys!" Natalie said in a mater-of-fact tone.

"What?" everyone else besides Natalie, Ian, and Amy said.

Dan and Natalie got evil grins as Ian's and Amy's cheeks turned red.

"I didn't know about this," Dan said. "You got anymore blackmail on Amy? Because I got tons on Ian!"

"Um, Amy; read," Ian said.

**The family cemetery sat at the bottom of the hill from the mansion. Dan thought it was kind of stupid they'd hired a hearse to carry Grace a hundred yards down the driveway. They could've put wheels on the coffin like they have on suitcases and that would've worked just as well.**

"DAN!" everyone yelled.

"Will you stop yelling my name?" he said. "Gesh, I was only eleven."

**Summer storm clouds rumbled overhead. The family mansion looked dark and gloomy on its hill, like a lord's castle. Dan loved the place, with its billion rooms and chimneys and stained glass windows.**

"It did not have a billion rooms," Amy said.

"Come on; what? Was I off by one?"

**He loved the family graveyard even more. **

"That's a bit creepy," Natalie said.

**A dozen crumbling tombstones spread out across a green meadow ringed in trees, right next to a little creek. Some of the stones were so old the writing had faded away. Grace used to take Amy and him down to the meadow on their weekend visits. Grace and Amy would spend the afternoon on a picnic blanket, reading and talking, while Dan explored the graves and the woods and the creek.**

"Why do I have the feeling the majority of these books are about them?" Natalie said.

"Because they won the whole thing?" Ian said smartly.

"True…"

Dan, who was in a daydream, was smiling about the time when he put the frog he found in the creek in Amy's hair.

_**Stop that, **_**Dan told himself. **_**You're getting sentimental. **_

"Aw, Macho Man is getting sad," Reagan teased.

"Shut it," Dan growled.

"**So many people," Amy murmured, as they walked down the driveway.**

"**You're not going to freak out, are you?"**

"Wait, you're scared of crowds?" Ted asked.

"She's terrified," Dan said.

Amy threw the third book.

**Amy fiddled with the collar of her dress. "I'm – I'm not freaking out. I just –"**

"**You hate crowds," he finished. "But you **_**knew **_**there'd be a crowd. They come every year."**

"It's not like I enjoyed it," Natalie whispered.

"Please!" Ian said. "You wouldn't shut up about Christmas every year. I think our maids quit because they were to the, I'm-Going-To-Strangle-Her point!"

Natalie glared. "I got presents. But you also liked it."

Her glare turned into a wicked grin and Ian was at the same point the maids were.

**Each winter, as long as Dan could remember, Grace had invited relatives from all over the world for a weeklong holiday. The mansion filled up with Chinese Cahills and British Cahills **

"Me!" Natalie said.

**and South African Cahills and Venezuelan Cahills. Most of them didn't even go by the name Cahill, but Grace assured him they were all related. She'd explained about cousins and second cousins and cousins three times removed until Dan's brains started to hurt. Amy would usually go hide in the library with the cat. **

"By the way, where is the cat?" Dan asked.

"**I know," she said. "But… I mean, **_**look **_**at them all." **

**She had a point. **

"I usually do," Amy said.

**About four hundred people were gathering at the grave site.**

"**They just want her fortune," Dan decided.**

"Correction: the Holt's wanted her house," Dan said.

"No we didn't!" Madison said.

"Just wait."

"**Well? It's true."**

**They had just joined the procession when Dan suddenly got flipped upside down.**

Dan put his head in his hand while the Holt girl's fist-pounded.

"**Hey!" he yelled.**

"**Look, guys," a girl said. "We caught a rat!"**

"I am _not _a rat!" Dan said.

"Whatever, _Daniel!" _Reagan said, smirking.

"DON'T CALL ME DANIEL!"

**Dan wasn't in a good position to see, but he could make out the Holt sisters – Madison and Reagan – standing on either side of him, holding him by his ankles. **

"HA!" they yelled. "WE WERE IN THE BOOK BEFORE YOU, KABRA!"

"Please," Natalie said, flipping her hair. "I'm probably more of a main character than you three put together."

**The twins had matching purple running suits, blond pigtails, and crooked smiles. They were only eleven, same as Dan, but they had not trouble holding him. **

"And don't you forget it," Reagan said.

**Dan saw more purple running suits behind them – the rest of the Holt Family. Their pit bull, Arnold, raced around their legs and barked. **

"**Let's fling him in the creek," Madison said.**

"**I wanna fling him into the bushes!" Reagan said. "We never do **_**my **_**ideas!"**

"We _still _don't," Reagan grumbled.

"Uh, Dan?" Amy said. "You sure you want me to read the rest of this, considering it's in your point of view?"

"Sure," Dan said dismissively.

She looked at the Holt's. "Just don't kill him."

**Their older brother, Hamilton, laughed like an idiot.**

Hamilton's face turned red and his hands balled into fists.

"Amy, skip this part!" Dan said.

"Sorry, you told me to read it," she said. "Payback."

"WHO IS THIS AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER!"

An evil grin formed on Amy's face as she read.

**Next to him, their dad, Eisenhower Holt, and their mom, Mary-Todd, grinned like this was all good fun.**

"**Now, girls," Eisenhower said. "We can't go flinging people at a funeral. This is a happy occasion!"**

"**Amy!" Dan called. "A little help here?"**

"Oh, no; I remember," Dan mumbled.

**Her face had gone pale. She mumbled, "Dr-dr-drop…"**

**Dan sighed in exasperation. "She's trying to say 'DROP ME!'"**

**Madison and Reagan did – on his head.**

"Nice," Jonah said.

Dan gave him the evil eye, even though Ian was nodding his head.

"**Ow!" Dan said.**

"**M-M-Madison!" Amy protested.**

"Sorry, Amy," Madison said before she could continue.

"**Y-y-yes?" Madison mimicked. "I think all those books are turning your brain to mush, weirdo." **

Amy sighed. "Sorry, guys. Remember, Dan thought this."

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Amy!" Dan said, holding his arms out.

**If it had been anyone else, Dan would've hit back, but he knew better with the Holts. Even Madison and Reagan, the youngest, could cream him.**

They nodded, but they were gripping the table with evil glares at Dan.

**The whole Holt family was way too buff. They had meaty hands and thick necks and faces that looked like G.I. Joe figures. Even the mom looked like she should be shaving and chewing on a cigar.**

If looks could kill, Dan would've been dead. The twins got an evil look on their faces and Hamilton caught on.

"Please, continue," Madison said. "We'll deal with Dan later."

He gulped. "Natalie, switch seats with me."

"I'm sorry, DANIEL, I can't hear you**."**

"**I hope you losers took a good last look around the house," Madison said. "You're not going to be invited back here anymore, now that the old witch is dead."**

"_**Raw!**_**" said Arnold the pit bull.**

**Dan looked around for Beatrice, but as usual she wasn't anywhere near them. She'd drifted off to talk to the other old people.**

Dan glared. "Grace wasn't a witch! And _we _inherited the place!"

"**Grace wasn't a witch," Dan said. "And **_**we're **_**going to inherit this place!"**

"Freeeeaky!" Jonah said.

**The big brother, Hamilton, laughed. "Yeah, right." His hair was combed towards the middle so it stuck up like a shark fin.**

Hamilton touched his hair. Sinead shook her head.

"**Wait till they read the will, runt. I'm gonna kick you out myself!"**

"**All right, team," the dad said. "Enough of this. Formation!"**

**The family lined up and started jogging towards the grave site., knocking other relatives out of their way as Arnold snapped at their heels.**

"**Is your head okay?" Amy asked guiltily.**

**Dan nodded. He was a little annoyed Amy hadn't helped him, but there was no point in complaining about it. She always got tongue-tied around other people. "Man, I hate the Holts."**

"Sorry, guys," Dan said.

"Sure," Hamilton said. "Let's just get on with it."

"**We've got worse problems." Amy pointed toward the graves site, and Dan's heart sank.**

"**The Cobras," he muttered.**

Natalie clapped. "Finally, someone good." She looked at Ian. "Well, _me _at least."

**Ian and Natalie Kabra were standing by Grace's coffin, looking like perfect little angels as they talked to the preacher. They wore matching designer mourning outfits that complemented their silky black hair and cinnamon-colored skin.**

"They were obviously not matching," Natalie said. "Mine was a totally different designer."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't care," Dan said sarcastically.

**They could've been child supermodels.**

"**They won't try anything during the funeral," Dan said hopefully. "They're just here for Grace's money like the rest of them. But they won't get it."**

"We weren't there for the money!" Natalie said. "We were there for the clues!"

**Amy frowned. "Dan… did you really believe what you said, about us inheriting the mansion?"**

"**Of course! You know Grace liked us best. We spent more time with her than anybody."**

**Amy sighed like Dan was too young to understand, which Dan hated.**

"Still do," Dan mumbled.

"**Come on," she said. "We might as well get this over with." And together they waded into the crowd. **

"This chapter's long!" Amy said.

**The funeral was a blur to Dan. The minister said some stuff about ashes.**

"I thought they buried Grace," Hamilton said.

"They did," Dan said.

**They lowered the coffin into the ground. Everyone tossed in a shovelful of dirt. Dan thought the mourners enjoyed this part too much, especially Ian and Natalie. **

Amy elbowed Ian in the ribs.

"What?" Ian said.

**He recognized a few more relatives: Alistair Oh, the old Korean dude with the diamond-tipped walking stick who always insisted they call him Uncle; the Russian lady Irina Spasky, who had a twitch in one eye so everybody called her Blinky behind her back;**

"Poor Irina," Sinead said.

**The Starling triplets – Ned, Ted, and Sinead, who looked like part of a cloned Ivy League lacrosse team.**

"Dan, you really need to learn when to shut up," Sinead said.

**Even that kid from television was there: Jonah Wizard. **

Jonah smiled.

**He stood at one side, getting his picture taken with a bunch of girls, and there was a line of people waiting to talk to him. He was dressed just like on TV, with lots of silver chains and bracelets, ripped jeans, and a black muscle shirt (which was kind of stupid, since he didn't have any muscles).**

Jonah's smile dropped. "Dan…"

"Why do we have to read these books?" Dan said.

**An older African-American guy in a business suit stood behind him, punching notes into a BlackBerry. Probably Jonah's dad. Dan had heard that Jonah Wizard was related to the Cahills, but he'd never seen him in person. He wondered if he should get an autograph for his collection.**

"No," Dan said. "I think I was drunk through this whole thing."

**After the service, a guy in a charcoal-gray suit stepped up to the podium. He looked vaguely familiar to Dan. The man had a long pointed nose and a balding head. He reminded Dad of a vulture.**

"Mr. McIntyre," Ned said.

"**Thank you all for coming," he said gravely. "I am William McIntyre, Madame cahill's lawyer and executor."**

"**Executor?" Dan whispered to Amy. "He killed her?"**

"**No, you idiot," Amy whispered back. "That means he's in charge of her will."**

"Finally, someone with since," Hamilton said.

"**If you will look inside your programs," William McIntyre continued, "some of you will find a gold invitation card."**

**Excited murmuring broke out as four hundred people leafed through their programs. Then most of them cursed and shouted complaints when they found nothing. Dan ripped through his program. Inside was a card with a gold leafed border. It read: **

_**Dan and Amy Cahill are hereby invited to the reading of the last will and testament of Grace Cahill.**_

_**Where:**_

_**The Great Hall, Cahill Manor**_

_**When:**_

_**Now**_

"**I knew it!" Dan said.**

"**I assure you," Mr. McIntyre said, raising his voice above the crowd, "the invitations were not done randomly. I apologize to those of you who were excluded. Grace Cahill meant you no disrespect. Of all the members of the Cahill clan, only a few were chosen as the most likely."**

**The crowd started yelling and arguing.**

"What do you expect when you're in a room full of Cahill's?" Ian muttered.

**Finally, Dan couldn't stand it anymore. He called out, "Most likely to what?"**

Amy elbowed Ian in the ribs again.

"Ow!" Ian said. "Bloody hell, what'd I do this time?"

"**In your case, Dan," Ian Kabra muttered right behind him, "to be a stupid American git."**

**His sister, Natalie,**

Natalie squealed with delight.

**giggled. She was holding an invitation and looking very pleased with herself.**

"I was!" she squealed.

Dan covered his ears. He looked at the ceiling and mouthed "Why me?"

**Before Dan could kick Ian in a soft spot, the gray-suited man answered. "To be the beneficiaries of Grace Cahill's will. Now, if you please, those with invitations will gather in the Great Hall."**

**People with invitations hurried toward the house like somebody had just yelled "Free food!"**

"Where?" Hamilton said, looking around.

"Where have you been?" Ian asked.

"Texting," Jonah said.

"Who?"

"If I wanted to tell you I would," Hamilton said.

**Natalie Kabra winked at Dan. "**_**Ciao, **_**cousin. Must run collect our fortune." Then she and her brother strolled up the drive.**

"Ugh! I can't believe I winked at him!" she said.

"You guys do realize I'm right here, right?"

"**Forget them," Amy said.**

"You can't forget US!" Natalie said.

"Yea, we've all been cursed with that," Ted said.

"**Dan, maybe you're right. Maybe we'll inherit something."**

"Well, isn't that the understatement of the year," Jonah said.

**But Dan frowned. If this invitation was such a great thing, why did the lawyer look so grim?**

"Because he didn't want you two to die," Jonah said.

**And why had Grace included the Kabras?**

"HEY!" Natalie screeched. She shoved Dan out of her seat.

"I'm just going to stay down here."

**As he passed through the main entrance of the mansion, Dan glanced up at the stone crest above the door – a large C surrounded by four smaller designs – a dragon, a bear, a wolf, and two snakes entwined around a sword.**

"Ha!" Dan said from the floor. "Ours is the biggest!"

"I never noticed that," Madison said.

**The crest had always fascinated Dan, though he didn't know what it meant. **

"The Cahills, of course," Ian said.

**All the animals seemed to glare at him, like they were about to strike. He followed the crowd inside, wondering why those animals were so mad.**

**The Great hall was as big as a basketball court, with tons of armor and swords lining the walls and huge windows that looked like Batman could crash through them at any minute.**

Reagan gasped. "I wasn't the only one thinking that!"

**William McIntyre stood at a table in front with a projector screen behind him, while everybody else filed into rows of seats. There were about forty people in all, including the Holts and the Kabras and Aunt Beatrice , who looked completely disgusted to be there – or maybe she was just disgusted that everybody else had been invited to her sister's will reading.**

"Probably," Jonah said, without using his gangsta talk. "She only whacked me in the back of the head trying to get in there."

**Mr. McIntyre raised his hand for quiet. He slipped a document from a brown leather folder, adjusted his bifocals, and began to read: "'I, Grace Cahill, being of sound mind and body, do hereby divide my entire estate among those who accept the challenge and those who do not.'"**

Natalie scoffed. "Please, she gave everything that was left over to Dan and Amy including four million dollars."

"**Whoa," Eisenhower Holt interrupted. "What challenge? What's she mean?"**

"Bad grammar," Sinead said.

"**I am getting to that, sir." Mr. McIntyre cleared his throat and continued: "'You have been chosen as the most likely to succeed in the greatest, most perilous undertaking of all time – a quest of vital importance to the Cahill family and the world at large.'"**

_Make mummy proud! _Ian remembered his mum saying. _Don't screw this up for me. Bring me those Clues and we'll be the most powerful family in the world!_

Her words were tempting, but even then, Ian knew better; she'd just take the clues and leave.

**Forty people started talking at once, asking questions and demanding answers.**

"'**Perilous undertaking'?" Cousin Ingrid shouted. "What is she talking about?"**

"**I thought this was about money!" Uncle Jose yelled. "A quest? Who does she think we are? We're Cahills, not adventurers!"**

"Uncle Jose was always the slow one," Jonah said.

**Dan noticed Ian and Natalie Kabra exchange a meaningful look. Irina Spasky whispered something in Alistair Oh's ear, but most of the other spectators looked as confused as Dan felt.**

"Really?" Natalie said. "I didn't notice that."

"**Ladies and gentlemen, please," Mr. McIntyre said. "If you will direct your attention to the screen, perhaps Madame Cahill can explain things better than I."**

"What?" Jonah said. "Mac and Cheese always confused me."

"Who is 'Mac and Cheese'?" Ian asked.

"Mr. McIntyre!"

**Dan's heart did a flip-flop. What was Mr. McIntyre talking about? Then a projector on the ceiling hummed to life. **

"Frankenstein!" Reagan and Madison yelled.

**The shouting in the room died down as Grace's image flickered on the screen.**

Amy sighed. "Here we go," she whispered to herself.

**She was sitting up in bed with Saladin in her lap. She wore a black dressing gown, like she was a mourner at her own funeral, but she looked healthier than the last time Dan had seen her. Her complexion was pink. Her face and hands didn't look as thin. The video must've been made months ago, before her cancer got bad. Dan got a lump in his throat. He had the crazy urge to call to her: **_**Grace, it's me! It's Dan! **_**But of course it was just an image. He looked at Amy and saw a tear trickling down the base of her nose.**

Dan got up in his chair silently as Amy gripped the book. Natalie glanced at him and rolled her eyes.

"**Fellow Cahill's," Grace said. "If you are watching this, it means I am dead, and I have decided to use my alternate will. No doubt you are arguing amongst yourselves and giving poor Mr. McIntyre a hard time about this contest I have instituted." Grace gave the camera a dry smile. "You always were a stubborn bunch. For once, close your mouths and listen."**

"**Hey, wait a minute!" Eisenhower Holt protested, but his wife shushed him. **

Reagan covered her eyes and shook her head as if her dad embarrassed her.

"**I assure you," Grace continued, "this contest is no trick. It is deadly serious business. Most of you know you belong to the Cahill family, but many of you may not realize just how important our family is. I tell you the Cahills have had a greater impact on human civilization than any other family in history."**

**More confused shouting broke out. Irina Spasky stood up and yelled, "Silence! I wish to hear!"**

"**My relatives," Grace's image said, "you stand on the brink of our greatest challenge. Each of you has the potential to succeed. Some of you may decide to form a team with other people in the room to pursue the challenge. Some of you may prefer to take up the challenge alone. Most of you, I'm afraid, will decline the challenge and run away with your tails between your legs. **

"Aunt Beatrice," Dan muttered.

**Only **_**one **_**team will succeed, and each of you must sacrifice your share of the inheritance to participate."**

**She held up a manila envelope sealed with red wax. Her eyes were as bright and hard as steel. "If you accept, you shall be given the first of the thirty-nine clues. These clues will lead you to a secret, which, should you find it, will make you the most powerful, influential human beings on the planet. You will realize the destiny of the Cahill family. I now beg you all to listen to Mr. McIntyre. Allow him to explain the rules. Think long and hard before you make your choice." She stared at the camera, and Dan wanted her to say something special to them: **_**Dan and Amy, I'll miss you most of all. Nobody else in this room really matters to me. **_**Something liked that.**

Amy and Dan exchanged thoughts silently. She looked back down at her book.

**Instead, Grace said, "I'm counting on you all. Good luck, and good-bye."**

**The screen went dark. Amy gripped Dan's hand. Her fingers were trembling. To Dan, it felt like they'd just lost Grace all over again. Then everyone started talking at once.**

"**Greatest family in history?" Cousin Ingrid yelled. "Is she crazy?"**

"_**Stubborn?"**_** Eisenhower Holt shouted. "She called **_**us **_**stubborn?"**

"Of course," Hamilton muttered. "Especially you."

"**William!" Alistair Oh's voice rose above the rest. "Just a moment! There are people here I don't even recognize, people who may not even be members of the family. How do we know –"**

"**If you are in this room, sir," Mr. McIntyre said, "you are a Cahill. Whether your surname is Cahill or not doesn't matter. Everyone here has Cahill blood."**

"**Even you, Mr. McIntyre?" Natalie Kabra asked in her silky British accent.**

She smiled.

_At least she didn't squeal, _Dan thought.

"I wonder why they didn't bring Alistair in," Sinead wondered.

**The old lawyer flushed. "That, miss, is beside the point. Now, if I might be allowed to finish –"**

"**But what's this about sacrificing our inheritance?" Aunt Beatrice complained. "Where's the money? It's just like my sister to come up with such foolishness!"**

Dan put his head in his hand. "Oh, God, she's still here."

"**Madam," Mr. McIntyre said, "you may certainly decline the challenge. If you do, you will receive what is under your chair."**

**Immediately, forty people felt around under their chairs. Eisenhower Holt was so anxious he picked up Reagan's chair with her still in it. **

Reagan rubbed her head. That actually hurt.

**Dan discovered an envelope under his, stuck on with tape. When he opened it, he found a green slip of paper with a bunch of numbers and the words ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. Amy had one, too. So did everyone in the room. **

"Did you think it was just you?" Jonah asked.

"Maybe," Dan said. "Maybe not!"

"**What you now hold is a bank voucher," Mr. McIntyre explained. "It shall only be activated if and when you renounce your claim to the challenge. If you so choose, each of you may walk out of this room with one million dollars and never have to think of Grace Cahill or her last wishes again. Or… you may choose a clue – a single clue that will be your only inheritance. No money. No property. Just a clue that might lead you to the most important treasure in the world and make you powerful beyond belief…" **

**William's gray eyes seemed to settle on Dan particularly. "… or it might kill you. One million dollars or the clue. You have five minutes to decide."**

* * *

_**A/N: Hey guys! Whew, that was a twenty page chapter! :P Sorry i took so long! Have a cookie! (::) Yummm!**_


	3. The Old Clown's Big Toe

**Chapter 3**

"Ok, who's next?" Amy said.

"Let me see it," Dan said, reaching over the table. When he saw the first two words on the table, he grinned. "_I'll _read, dear sister."

"It's about me, isn't it?" she said.

"No wonder you're the smart one," he said. He opened the book and began:

**Amy Cahill thought she had the most annoying little brother on the planet.**

"Still do," she said.

**And that was **_**before **_**he almost got her killed.**

**It all started when Mr. McIntyre read their grandmother's will and showed them the video.**

**Amy sat there in shock. She found herself holding a green slip of paper worth one million dollars. A challenge? A dangerous secret? What was going on?**

"I _don't _sound like that, dweeb," Amy said.

"What?" he said in the high-pitched voice he had used to read.

"Is this the last chapter for now?" Reagan whined. "I'm _hungry!" _

**She stared at the blank projector screen. She couldn't believe her grandmother would do something like this. The video must have been made months ago, judging from the way Grace had looked. Seeing her on the screen like that had stung Amy worse than salt in a cut.**

"Ow," Sinead said. "That just sounds painful."

**How could Grace be planning something this huge and not have warned them in advance? **

"Because she didn't want us to be killed," Dan muttered.

**Amy never expected to inherit much. **

"Seriously?" Ian asked. "Everybody expected you to get everything!"

"Really?" Amy said, rolling her eyes.

"Uh, DUH!" Hamilton said. "Now I'm with Reagan – I'M HUNGRY!"

**All she wanted was something to remember Grace by – a keepsake, maybe one piece of her beautiful jewelry. Now this… she felt completely lost.**

"If you keep reading like that, I can get someone else to read," Amy said.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll stop – unless you start getting sappy."

Amy rolled her eyes.

**It didn't help that Dan was jumping around like he needed to go to the restroom. **

"I did not!" he said, his mouth hanging open.

Everyone kept quiet and looked around. He pouted and kept reading.

"**One million dollars!" he squealed. **

"I didn't squeal," he muttered.

"**I could get a Mickey Mantle rookie card **_**and **_**a Babe Ruth 1914!"**

"Who?" Natalie asked.

"They're only –"

"Read now; explain later," Hamilton said.

**His tie was crooked, which matched his crooked grin. He had a scar under one eye from when he'd gone commando-raiding at seven and fallen on his plastic AK-47.**

Natalie gagged. "I _really _wanted that visual, Amy!"

**That's just the kind of little demon he was. But what Amy resented the most was how comfortable he seemed, like all these people didn't bother him.**

**Amy hated crowds. She felt like everyone was watching her, waiting for her to make a fool of herself.**

"Uh, we were," Madison said.

"I figured," Amy said.

**Sometimes in her nightmares, she dreamed she was at the bottom of a pit, and all the people she knew were staring down at her, laughing.**

Dan started snickering. Amy's cheeks turned red.

**She'd tried to climb out of the pit, but she could never make it.**

**Right now all she wanted to do was run up to Grace's library, close the door, and curl up with a book. She wanted to find Saladin, Grace's Egyptian Mau, and cuddle with him. **

Amy gripped the edge of her seat. "The voice, Dan, the voice…"

Dan smirked. "_Payback." _

**But Grace was dead, and the poor cat… who knew where he was now? She blinked tears out of her eyes, thinking about the last time she'd seen her grandmother.**

"Aw," Sinead said.

_**You will make me proud, Amy, **_**Grace had said.**

"God, stop talking like Yoda, _Daniel!_" Natalie said.

"If one more person calls me Daniel, I will give my warning now: I know where you will sleep at night."

**They'd been sitting on Grace's big four-poster bed, with Saladin purring next to them. Grace had shown her a hand-drawn map of Africa and told her stories about the adventures she'd had when she was a young explorer.**

"So she _did _tell you about the Clues!" Jonah said.

"No, she told me stories but not the reason behind them," Amy said.

**Grace had looked thin and frail, but the fire in her eyes was as fierce as ever. The sunlight turned her hair to pure silver. **_**I had many adventures, my dear, but they will pale next to yours. **_

"That they did," Ted said.

**Amy wanted to cry. How could grace think that Amy would have great adventures? She could barely muster enough courage to go to school every morning.**

"Oh, but you don't mind it now," Dan said.

Amy's eyes went into evil-glare mode. "Shut. Up."

Dan went into girl voice. "Oh Evan! You're so _adorkable!" _

Amy's face turned bright red as she threw something that looked vaguely like an apple at Dan's head. Ian, however, was a bit jealous and confused of this "Evan".

"Who's Evan?" he asked.

A grin spread on Natalie's face as Amy sunk in her seat.

"Oh, just Amy's boyfriend," Dan said, batting his eyes and acting like a girl.

Amy was this close to strangling Dan. Then, she smirked and looked at the Holts.

"Whatever you three have got planned, I want to help," she said.

The twins high-fived, each having evil grins. "This is going to be good!"

"**I could get a ninja sword," Dan kept babbling. **

"Already have one!"

"**Or a Civil War saber!"**

"Have one of those too!"

"Dan, shut up," Sinead said.

"**Dan, shut up," she said. "This is serious."**

Dan snickered and kept reading after Natalie threatened to beat him upside the head with a chair.

"**But the money –"**

"**I know," she said. "But if we took the money, we'd need to keep it for college and stuff. You know how Aunt Beatrice is."**

Dan looked at her over the book. "Amy, please; the principal already has your name on the full ride scholarship list."

"How do you know that?" Amy asked.

"I might have changed my grades a couple of times, but that's none of your business."

**Dan frowned like he'd forgotten. He knew good and well that Aunt Beatrice only looked after them for Grace's sake. Amy always wished Grace had adopted them after their parents died, but she hadn't. For reasons she never explained, she pressured Beatrice into being their guardian instead.**

"Thanks," Dan said sarcastically.

**For the last seven years, Dan and Amy would've been at Beatrice's mercy, living in a tiny apartment with a series of au pairs.**

"That's just plain hellish," Hamilton said.

**Beatrice paid for everything, but she didn't pay much. Amy and Dan got enough to eat and a new set of clothes every six months, but that was it. **

Natalie gasped in horror. "JUST STOP! IT'S HORRIFING!"

**No birthday presents. No special treats. No allowance. They went to a regular public school and Amy never had extra money to buy books. She used the public library, or sometimes she'd hang out at the second-hand bookshop on Boylston, where the staff knew her. Dan made little money on his own trading collectible cards, but it wasn't worth much. **

Natalie fainted, falling into Dan. Dan screamed.

"GET THE COBRA OFF OF ME!"

She woke up and screamed, seeing she was lying on Dan's shoulders. "OH MY GOD, MY HAIR TOUCHED YOU!" She ran her hands threw her hair. "I'm so sorry."

"Well, I didn't expect to hear that," Dan said.

"NOT YOU!" She shoved him out of his seat. "MY HAIR!"

He got up in his seat. "For the love of bacon, it's just hair!"

"It's MY hair, Daniel! Mine! It's worth millions and I bet you now that the price has dropped because it touched _you!" _

The whole table was snickering at them. Dan stuck his tongue out.

"I will cut out in your sleep if you do it again," she hissed.

He glared and picked the book up.

**Every weekday for seven years, Amy had resented Grace for not raising them herself, but every weekend Amy just couldn't stay mad at her. When they came to the mansion, Grace gave them undivided attention. She treated them like the most important people in the world. Whenever Amy got up the courage to ask why they couldn't stay with Grace all the time, Grace just smiled sadly. **_**There are reasons, dear. Someday, you will understand.**_

Amy started to say something about Grace not sounding like Jackie Chan, but with Ian sitting next to her with his arms folded ever since the Evan discussion came up, she was mentally kicking herself for not saying that Evan wasn't her boyfriend.

Yet, at least.

**Now Grace was gone. Amy didn't know what Aunt Beatrice would do, but they definitely could use money.**

"She would've probably chopped us up in little pieces and fed us to her apartment building," Dan said. "That is, if they didn't run from the clown lady."

**It would mean they would have some independence. They could get a bigger apartment, maybe. They could buy books whenever they wanted and go to college. **

Dan laughed. "Me? Buy a book? Please."

"You have _The Son of Neptune _in your room," Amy said. "And, I must say, I never thought you could read a book past three pages."

"Ha-ha," Dan said, rolling his eyes. "But I had to see if Percy and Annabeth found each other again and if Jason would ever get up the courage to ask Piper out."

All of the guys at the table turned and looked at Dan with WTF faces, especially Hamilton and Ian. Jonah was a little relieved.

"You haven't finished it yet?" Jonah asked.

"No, what happens?"

"Cliff hanger!"

"UGH! WHY RICK, WHY!"

Ian muttered something about the two, and only Amy understood him. He was right about that.

**Amy was desperate to go to Harvard. She wanted to study history and archaeology. Her mom would've liked that.**

**At least… Amy hoped she would have. Amy knew so little about her parents. She didn't even know why she and Dan carried her mom's maiden name – Cahill – when their dad's last name had been Trent. She'd asked Grace about it once, but Grace had only smiled. "It's how your parents wanted it," she said. But the stubborn pride in her voice made Amy wonder if it had really been Grace's idea for them to carry the Cahill name. **

**Amy had trouble remembering her mother's face, or anything about her parents before the terrible night they died. And that was something Amy tried hard not to think about. **

_Oh there she goes, acting like she's the only one, _Dan said, rolling his eyes.

"**Okay," Dan said slowly. "So I'll spend **_**my **_**million on my collection. You can spend yours on college. And everybody's happy."**

**Amy felt heartsick. Arguments were breaking out all over the room. The Holts looked like they were conducting a combat exercise.**

"No, we were planning on sending Hamilton to hold Ian upside down to mess up his hair," Reagan said. "That's when we noticed the dart gun in Natalie's purse."

**Sinead Starling was holding her brothers, Ned and Ted, apart so they wouldn't strangle each other. **

"All because Mr. Smarty-pants wanted to argue about science," Ted said.

"I was right!" Ned said. He closed his eyes and held his head. "So what now!"

"I'm sorry; I can't hear you over my awesomeness."

"Stop it!" Sinead snapped. Good thing she was sitting in between them or they might try to kill each other again.

**Irina Spasky was talking in rapid-fire Russian to that kid from the reality show, Jonah Wizard, and his dad, but from the way they were staring back at her, it was obvious they didn't speak Russian.**

"I think she was telling me that I looked like an idiot with those necklaces," Jonah said.

**Angry voices filled the Great Hall. It was like they were tearing up Grace bit by bit, squabbling over her inheritance. They didn't care at all that Amy's grandmother had just passes away.**

"AND DAN'S!" he said.

"Eh, you too," she said.

**Then somebody behind her said, "You'll decline the challenge, of course."**

Dan's evil grin spread across his face like the time Hamilton gave him a five gallons of skittles. He showed Natalie and they exchanged evil Devil's-Child's looks.

"Oh, can I read this part?" Natalie asked.

"Why, of course!" Dan said.

"Oh God, no; they're actually being NICE to each other," Ian said.

Hamilton laughed. "Y'all screwed."

**It was Ian Kabra, with his annoyingly gorgeous sister, Natalie, at his side.**

"It doesn't say gorgeous," Ian said.

"I'm reading, I read what I want," she snapped. "That means you shut up and let me enjoy this!"

**Despite herself, Amy's stomach did a little somersault, because Ian was very good-looking.**

Amy's face turned bright red as she sunk down in her chair. Ian looked around nervously, shifting in his seat. Dan laughed at their being miserable. Everyone else at the table stared at the two in complete shock.

**He had gorgeous dark skin, amber eyes, and a perfect smile. He was fourteen, same as her, but he dressed like a grown up, in a silk suit and tie. He even smelled good, like clove. Amy hated herself for noticing. **

"They're blushing!" Dan laughed, holding his stomach. "Oh God, it hurts!"

Even Natalie was giggling. The whole table joined in, giggling. One of the Holt girls got to laughing so hard they snorted, and they started laughing harder. Amy and Ian cracked smiles, but Amy thought she was going to die.

"**I would be so sad if something happened to you," Ian purred. **

**Natalie put her hands to her mouth in mock surprise. She looked like a life-size doll in her satin dress, her luxurious black hair swept over one shoulder.**

"_See _what I mean, Daniel?" she said, slapping him in the back of the head. She handed him the book. "I'm through."

He took the book, cursing under his breath about a rich female dog. It was a good thing Natalie didn't hear him or they would have one dead body and one with a broken nail.

"**That's right, Ian! They're poor. I keep forgetting. It seems so odd we're related, doesn't it?"**

**Amy felt herself blush.**

"Like she's doing now," Dan said.

**She wanted to say something scathing in reply, but her voice wouldn't work. **

Dan sighed. "It never does," he mumbled.

"**Oh, yeah?" Dan said. "Well, maybe we're **_**not **_**related! Maybe you're mutant aliens, because **_**real **_**kids don't dress like bankers and fly around the world in their daddy's private jet."**

"You're obsessed with aliens, aren't you?" Madison asked, her eyes glittering with amusement.

**Ian smiled. You misunderstand me, dear cousin. We're very happy for you. We want you to take the money, have a wonderful life, and never think about us again."**

"Because you were scared we would win," Amy said, her eyes wandering around the room.

"Did not," Ian said.

"Oh please, if it wasn't for me you would be deader than a doorknob!" She rolled her eyes. "Let's see, Mount Everest, Korea…" Amy named off a few more but Ian rolled his eyes.

"I could've survived Mount Everest," he said.

Amy scoffed. "Sure; you keep on believing that."

"You love birds done yet, or…?" Jonah said. "But what did Amy mean by Korea, Ian?"

"I'm pretty sure the books will tell," Ian said.

"Uh-huh…"

"**G-G-Grace," Amy managed, hating her voice wouldn't cooperate. "G-Grace would want –"**

"**Would want you to risk your lives?" Ian supplied. "How do you know? Did she tell you about this contest she was planning?"**

"Low, Man; just low," Hamilton said, shaking his head.

**Neither Amy nor Dan answered.**

"**I see," Ian said. "That must be terrible – thinking you were Grace's favorites and then being let in the dark like that. Perhaps you weren't as important to the old woman was you thought, eh?"**

"One," Jonah said. "Never mess with girls head. Two: please see number one."

"You're an idiot," Sinead said.

"**Now, Ian," Natalie chided. "Perhaps Grace just knew they weren't up to the challenge. It sounds quite dangerous." Natalie smiled at Amy. "We'd hate to see you suffer a painful death, wouldn't we? Ta-ta!"**

**The Kabras drifted off through the crowd.**

"_Ta-ta!" _Hamilton and Jonah said together.

"_**Ta-ta," **_**Dan mimicked. "What losers."**

Natalie rolled her eyes, still playing with her hair.

**Part of Amy wanted to chase down the Kabras and hit them with a chair. But part of her wanted to crawl under a rock and hide. She'd wanted so badly to tell them off, but she hadn't even been able to **_**speak. **_

"Yea," Dan said, "and leaves me there to call them aliens looking like an idiot."

"Dweeb," Amy muttered.

"**They're taking the challenge," she muttered.**

"**Well, duh!" Dan said. "What's another two million dollars to them? They can afford to give it up."**

The Kabra's exchanged looks, knowing good and well that they couldn't now.

"**They're threatening us. They don't want us involved."**

"**Maybe **_**they'll **_**suffer a painful death," Dan mused. "I wonder what the treasure is, anyway."**

Natalie's and Ian's eyes glued on Dan, both of them glaring.

"It's pretty sad that we're only on chapter 3 of the first book and almost everyone at the table wants to strangle you," Natalie said.

Amy laughed. "It gets worse."

"**Does it matter?" Amy said bitterly. "**_**We **_**can't look for them. We barely have enough money for bus passes."**

**But still she found herself wondering. Grace had explored all over the world. Could the treasure be a lost Egyptian tomb… or pirates' gold? Mr. McIntyre had said the prize would make the winners the most powerful human beings on earth. What could do that? And why were there exactly thirty-nine clues?**

"Because Gideon Cahill thought it was a catchy number," Jonah said.

**She couldn't help but being curious. She'd loved mysteries. When she was younger, she used to pretend her mother was still alive, and they would travel together on archaeological digs. Sometimes Grace would go, too, just the three of them, happily exploring the world, but that was just silly pretending.**

"So where was I?" Dan asked. "You left me with Aunt Beatrice ALONE?"

"**Too bad," Dan grumbled. "I'd love to wipe the smiles off the Cobras' faces…"**

**Just then, Aunt Beatrice grabbed their arms. Her face was contorted with rage and her breath smelled like mothballs.**

Hamilton gagged. "IT'S HER!"

"**You two will do nothing ridiculous! I fully intend to take my million dollars, and you will do the same! Never fear, I'll put it in an account for you until you're adults. I'll only spend the interest. In return, I will allow you to continue as my wards."**

"Hold up," Jonah said, dropping the gangsta talk. "She'll 'allow' you to continue as her wards?"

Dan nodded. "No wonder I broke her creepy cat collection."

Hamilton seemed to shudder at that. "Devil's Grandmother."

**Amy choked with rage. "You… you'll **_**allow **_**us to be your wards? You'll **_**allow **_**us to give you our two million dollars?"**

"SNAP!" Hamilton and Jonah said.

**As soon as she said it, she couldn't believe she'd managed to get the words out. Beatrice usually scared her to death. Even Dan looked impressed. **

"**Watch your place, young lady!" Beatrice warned. "Do the responsible thing or else!"**

"**Or else what?" Dan asked innocently.**

"SNAP!"

**Beatrice's face turned bright red. "Or else, you little upstart, I will disown you and leave you to Social Services. You will be penniless orphans, and I'll make sure no Cahill ever helps you again! This whole business is absurd. You'll take the money and wash your hands of my sister's ridiculous scheme for finding the –"**

"You know that sounds like she's doing a spell," Jonah said. He raised his arms and wagged his fingers. "I'll make you a penniless orphan! You-ith that do so must wash thee hands on thy sister's ridiculous scheme for finding the clues!"

"You do realize you look like an idiot, right?" Sinead said.

"Yea, I've been called worse."

**She stopped abruptly.**

"**Finding the what?" Dan asked.**

"**Never you mind," Beatrice said. With a shock, Amy realized Aunt Beatrice was **_**scared. **_**"Just make the right choice, or you will never have my support again!"**

**She marched off. Amy looked at Dan, but before she could say anything, Mr. McIntyre rang a little bell. Slowly, the wrangling and arguing in the Great Hall died down. The assembly took their seats.**

"That is the only man in the world that can calm the Cahills," Ian said.

"**It is time," Mr. McIntyre said. "I must warn you that once the choice is made, there is no turning back. No changing minds."**

"**Wait a moment, William," Alistair Oh said. "This isn't fair. We know almost nothing about the challenge. How are we to judge whether it's worth the gamble?"**

"Why didn't they bring Alistair in?" Madison asked.

**Mr. McIntyre pursed his lips. "I am limited in what I can say, sir. You know that the Cahill family is very large… very old. It has many branches. Some of you, until today, did not realize you were Cahills. But as Madame Grace said in her video address, this family has been instrumental in shaping human civilization. Some of the most important figures in history have in fact been Cahills."**

**Excited muttering filled the room. **

**Amy's mind was racing. She'd always known the Cahills were important. A lot of them were rich. They lived all over the world. But shaping human civilization? She wasn't sure what Mr. McIntyre meant.**

"**Historical figures?" Mr. Holt bellowed. "Like who?"**

Hamilton put his head in his hands. "Dad…"

**Mr. McIntyre cleared his throat. "Sir, you would be hard-pressed not to name a major historical figure in the last few centuries who was **_**not **_**a member of this family."**

"**Abraham Lincoln," Cousin Ingrid shouted out. **

"Ekat," Sinead said.

"**Eleanor Roosevelt."**

"I think she was a Lucian," Natalie said.

"**Yes," Mr. McIntyre said simply. "And yes."**

**A stunned silence filled the room.**

"**Harry Houdini!" Madison Holt shouted.**

"Funny you called out a Janus," Jonah said.

"**Lewis and Clark!" her sister, Reagan, suggested.**

"TOMAS!" the twins said.

"**Yes, yes, and yes," Mr. McIntyre said.**

"**Oh, come on!" Mr. Holt yelled. "That's impossible!"**

"**I agree!" Uncle Jos****é said. "You're putting us on, ****McIntyre."**

"Uncle José, why do you make the Janus branch look like idiots?" Jonah said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"**I am completely serious," the old lawyer assured him. "And yet, all the previous accomplishments of the Cahill clan are nothing compared to the challenge the now faces you. It is the time for you to discover the greatest secret of the Cahills, to become the most powerful members of the family in history – or to die trying."**

**Amy felt something cold and heavy in her stomach, like she'd swallowed a cannonball. How could she be related to all those famous people? How could grace possibly have thought Amy could become more powerful than them? She got nervous just thinking about it. There was no way she'd have the courage for a dangerous quest.**

"Yet it was your idea to go," Dan added.

**But if she and Dan didn't accept the challenge… She remembered Beatrice clutching their arms, telling them to take the money. **

Hamilton covered his ears and closed his eyes. "Mother of God, she won't leave!"

"Are you scared of her?" Madison asked.

Hamilton glared. "You didn't have to do what I did?"

"What did you have to do?" Reagan asked, suddenly interested.

"She made me clean her house, rub her feet with lotion, and cook." Hamilton shuddered. "That lady gives me the creeps."

"Dude, that's rough," Jonah said.

"It's ten times worse when you know what her feet look like."

"I know what you mean," Dan said, gagging. "That Big Toe…"

"Can we skip this?" Sinead asked. "I don't want to hear about the old clown's feet."

**Beatrice would find a way to steal their two million dollars. Amy wouldn't be able to stand up to her. They would go back to their dreary little apartment and nothing would change, except grace would be gone. No weekend trips to look forward to, nothing to remember her by. Amy never thought anything could be worse than when her parents died, but **_**this **_**was. She and Dan were totally alone. The only way out was this crazy idea that they were part of a great historical family… part of some mysterious contest. Amy's hands started to sweat.**

The twins slammed their fists into the table. "NO DEAL!"

Amy laughed.

"**Embarking on this quest," Mr. McIntyre was saying, "will lead you to the treasure. But **_**only **_**one of you will attain it. On individual" – his eyes flickered across Amy's face – "or one team will find the treasure. I can tell you no more. I do not, myself, know where the chase will lead. I can only start you on your path, monitor your progress, and provide some small measure of guidance. Now – who will choose first?"**

"I swear they made bets on who would win," Ian said.

Amy could've sworn he glanced over at her, but no one else noticed.

**Aunt Beatrice stood. "This is ridiculous. Any of you who play this silly game are fools. I'll take the money!"**

**Mr. McIntyre nodded. "As you wish, madam. As soon as you leave this room, the numbers on your voucher will become active. You may withdraw your money from the Royal Bank of Scotland at your leisure. Who's next?"**

**Several more stood up and took the money. Uncle José. Cousin Ingrid. A dozen other people Amy didn't recognize. Each took the green voucher and became an instant millionaire. **

"Greedy Cahills," Dan said.

**Then Ian and Natalie Kabra rose. **

"Of course," Ted said.

"**We accept the challenge," Ian announced. "We will work together as a team of two. Give us the clue." **

"**Very well," Mr. McIntyre said. "Your vouchers, please."**

**Ian and Natalie approached the table. Mr. McIntyre took out a silver cigarette lighter and burned the million-dollar papers. In return, he handed Ian and Natalie a manila envelope sealed with red wax. "Your first clue. You may not read it until instructed to do so. You, Ian and Natalie Kabra, will be Team One."**

Natalie looked at the twins. "Ha! _I _was the first to accept the challenge!"

"**Hey!" Mr. Holt objected. "Our whole family's taking the challenge! **_**We **_**want to be Team One!"**

"**We're number one!" the Holt kids started chanting, and their pit bull, Arnold, leaped into the air and barked along with them. **

"You're idea," Madison said to Reagan, "and we look like idiots."

**Mr. McIntyre raised his hand for silence. "Very well, Mr. Holt. Your family's vouchers, please. You shall be Team… uh, you shall also be a team."**

"Dad's an idiot," Hamilton muttered, rubbing his eyes.

**They made the trade – five million-dollar vouchers for one envelope with a clue, and the Holts didn't bat an eye. **

"Well, when you put it that way," Madison said.

**As they marched back to their seats, Reagan bumped Amy in the shoulder. "No pain, no gain, wimp!"**

**Next, Alistair Oh struggled to his feet. "Oh, very well. I can't resist a good riddle. I suppose you may call me Team Three."**

"Technically," Jonah said, "he's not a team; he's a single player."

"We're not getting technical," Dan said, pooping a skittle in his mouth.

"Where'd you get those?" Jonah asked.

"They were in _my _pocket and I'm _not sharing!" _

**Then the Starling triplets rushed forward. They put their vouchers on the table and three million more dollars went up in flames.**

"_**Da," **_**Irina Spasky said. "I, also, shall play this game. I work alone."**

Amy and Dan shared a glance.

"**Hey, yo, wait up." Jonah Wizard sauntered forwards like he was pretending to be a street punk, the way he did on **_**Who Wants to Be a Gangsta? **_**Which was kind of ridiculous since he was worth about a billion dollars and lived in Beverly Hills. **

Sinead snickered. "He has a point."

"**I'm all over this." He slapped his voucher on the table. "Hand me the clue, homes."**

"'Homes'?" Natalie said. "You sound like you failed English."

"**We'd like to film the contest," his dad piped up. **

"**No," Mr. McIntyre said.**

"'**Cause it would make great TV," the dad said. "I could talk to the studios about a percentage spilt –"**

"_**No," **_**Mr. McIntyre insisted. "This is not for entertainment, sir. This is a matter of life and death."**

"But I survived!" Jonah said.

**Mr. McIntyre looked around the room and focused on Amy.**

"**Who else?" he called. "Now is the time to choose."**

"No duh," Madison said. "I thought it was the time to leave."

**Amy realized she and Dan were the last ones undecided. Most of the forty guests had taken the money. Six teams had taken the challenge – all of them older or richer or seemingly more likely to succeed than Amy and Dan. Aunt Beatrice glared at them, warning them that they were about to get disowned. Ian was smiling smugly. **_**Perhaps you weren't as important to the old woman as you thought, eh? **_**Amy remembered what his annoying sister, Natalie, had said: **_**Grace just knew they weren't up for the challenge.**_

"I'm not annoying," Natalie muttered.

**Amy's face felt hot with shame. Maybe the Kabras were right. When the Holts turned her brother upside down, she hadn't fought back. When the Kabras insulted her, she'd just stood there tongue-tied. How could she handle a dangerous quest? **

"By outsmarting everyone," Madison said.

"Thinking on your feet," Reagan said.

"Being nice," Ian said.

"Everything else," Jonah said.

**But then she heard another voice in her head: **_**You will make me proud, Amy.**_

**And suddenly she knew: **_**This **_** was what Grace had been talking about. This was the adventure Amy was supposed to take. If she didn't, she might as well crawl under a rock and hide for the rest of her life.**

"Now, Evan wouldn't like that," Dan teased.

Amy glared and reached for the next book.

**She looked at her brother. Despite how annoying he was, they had always been able to communicate just by looking at each other. It wasn't telepathy or anything, but she could tell what her brother was thinking.**

_**It's a lot of money, **_**Dan told her. **_**A lot of awesome baseball cards. **_

_**Mom and Dad would want us to try, **_**Amy replied with her eyes. **_**This is what Grace wanted us to do.**_

_**Yeah, but a Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle…**_

"Who is that?" Natalie asked.

"Hall of Fame baseball players," Dan said. "Trust me, before you leave here, you will never forget who they are."

_**Ian and Natalie will hate it, **_**Amy coaxed. **_**And Aunt Beatrice will probably blow a gasket.**_

**A smile crept across his face. **_**I guess Babe Ruth can wait. **_

**Amy took his voucher. They walked to the desk together and she picked up Mr. McIntyre's lighter.**

"**We're in," she told him, and she sent two million dollars up in smoke.**

Dan smiled. "That's probably the bravest thing you did in all of these books," he said.

"No," she said.

"Whatever," Hamilton cut in. "Does anyone know how to cook? I'm about to die over here!"

* * *

_**A/N: Long. Chapter! :) Ok, guys, here's chapter three. And since I gave you a cookie last time, this time, you has cookies AND milk **__**\_/ (::) the milk blends in with the background though! Ok, but I need some ideas. I'm thinking about bringing in at least two more Cahill's that are OC's or OOC's, whatever they're called. So, I need idea's for names, please :D Now, I must work on Chapter 4!**_


	4. Dan's A Pretty Pretty Princess!

**Chapter 4**

After four failed attempts, the Cahills realized none of them could cook except Jonah. Hamilton snickered and sat on the counter with a light blue Gatorade in his hand watching Jonah with his crippled self cook. Sinead was working on the washing machine because Natalie, Madison, and Reagan thought it would be funny to stuff Dan in the washing machine. They made it start spinning and then black smoke started coming from the back. Ian was flipping through the books frantically like he was trying to hide something he didn't want anyone else to see. Amy was looking at the rooms with Ned and Ted. Well, Ted was walking with them.

"What are you looking for?" Natalie asked.

Ian jumped and slammed the book closed on his hand. He pulled his hand out and slammed the book again.

"Nothing," he said. "Just checking the chapters and figuring how long we'd be in here."

"Oh really?" Natalie said. "Then why do you keep muttering "No that's not it" and "Bloody hell where is the thing"?"

"Because I might be looking for something about you."

Natalie got big headed and left Ian alone. He silently let out an easy breath and continued, vowing not to let Natalie know he had really been looking for Korea.

Amy found a room that had bookshelves lining part of the walls, lined with her favorite books. The walls were a maroon red, and the floors were glossy hardwood. The bed was a four-poster like Grace's used to be. The furniture was a dark brown wood. She smiled and declared this as her room.

Ned smiled and said it was pretty, but didn't say much because he had gotten a headache. A few doors down, Ned found a room he liked that had two twin sized beds. He and Ted claimed that room.

"_Viola!" _Jonah yelled, pulling a frozen pizza from the oven. "It is done!"

"You cooked a frozen pizza," Madison said, grabbing her a piece. "It's not that big of an accomplishment."

"You couldn't do it."

"You never asked me to."

She walked off after grabbing a coke from the refrigerator. She and Reagan plopped on the couch and turned on ESPN.

Hamilton grabbed him two pieces and the place flooded with people that Jonah had to force his arm in to grab a piece while poking Dan with his crutch. Dan's right: GREEDY CAHILLS!

"Why are you eating pizza with a fork and knife?" Dan asked Natalie with cheese hanging down his chin.

"Because, Daniel, unlike you, I'm not a sloppy American," she said. "You have something on your face."

"Where?" he asked, crossing his eyes.

She face-palmed him on the forehead. "There."

He stuck his tongue out and she had a death grip on the fork. He rolled his eyes and kept eating.

Ian didn't even get a piece. Books were scattered on the table in different places. Amy picked up one, _The Sword Thief, _and tossed it in front of Ian.

"It's that one," she said, swallowing a bite of pizza.

"How do you know?" Ian asked.

She tapped the cover with her finger. "Lucky guess."

"What are you two talking about?" Hamilton asked, holding his pizza to his mouth while biting down and talking at the same time.

"The time Alistair's dog bit Ian," Amy said. Ian was shocked she could lie that good. "He doesn't want you guys to hear about that."

Hamilton and Jonah snickered like six year olds. Dan slid the book to Ian. Ian looked at it.

"What?" he asked.

"_Read,_" he said. "You didn't get pizza."

"Wait," Natalie said, "Ian can't read."

"I'm sorry, that's _you, airhead,_" Ian said, glaring at his sister.

Natalie gasped and brushed her hair down.

Ian rolled his eyes and opened the book. He saw it was Dan's point of view and he thought of the perfect payback for Daniel.

**Dan felt a dizzy rush, like the time he ate twenty packs of Skittles.**

"Lucky," Hamilton said with a mouth full of cheese.

**He couldn't believe how much money they'd thrown away. **

**Ever since he was little, he'd dreamed of doing something that would make his parents proud. He knew they were dead, of course. He barely remembered them. Still… he thought if he could just accomplish something amazing – even cooler than making the ultimate baseball card collection or becoming a ninja lord – his parents would somehow know. And they would be proud. This competition to become the greatest Cahill sounded like the perfect chance. **

"And _I _was sappy?" Amy said.

Dan rolled his eyes. "Please, you were too."

"So you admit it?"

There was a glare off that Amy won.

**Plus he liked treasure. And it was a real bonus that Aunt Beatrice's face turned completely purple as she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.**

"Please tell me that's the last of her," Hamilton said.

"I don't remember her anymore," Dan said.

**Now the Great hall was empty except for the seven teams and Mr. McIntyre.**

**After a tense silence, the old lawyer said, "You may open your envelopes."**

_**RIP, RIP, RIP.**_

**The clue was written in black calligraphy on crème paper. It read:**

"RESOLUTION: The fine print to guess, Seek out Richard S_," Dan said with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes, and Amy saw that all of the clues were running through his mind.

"**That's **_**it?"**_** Mary-Todd Holt screeched. "That's all we get?"**

"**Ten words," Eisenhower Holt muttered. "That's –" He started counting on his fingers.**

"Ugh, Dad," Madison groaned. "You're making us look like idiots!"

"Is that anything new?" Hamilton asked.

"**Roughly $500,000 per word," Alistair Oh supplied, "since you're family gave up five million dollars. I got a bargain. Each word only cost me $100,000."**

"Sneaky Ekats," Jonah said.

Sinead shot him a look and Dan could've sworn he saw Jonah roll his eyes and smile.

"**That's stupid!" Madison Holt said. "We need more clue!"**

"And _I _said something stupid?" Reagan said, glaring at her sisters. "That's bad grammar."

"Since when did you become good at English?" Madison asked, confused.

"Please, you've never seen my report card, dear sister. I seeing yours, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter." Reagan smirked and leaned back in her chair with her arms folded.

"**Richard S –," Ian mused. "Now who could that be?" He looked at his sister, and they both smiled like they were sharing a private joke. Dan wanted to kick them.**

"That was the point," Natalie and Ian said simultaneously.

"**Wait a minute." Jonah Wizard's dad scowled. "Did everyone get the same clue? Because my son insists on exclusive material. It's in his standard contract."**

"Nobody cares about your contract," Dan said.

**The thirty-nine clues," Mr. McIntyre said, "are the major stepping stones to the final goal. They are the same for each team. The first one, which you have received, is the only one that will be so simple."**

"**Simple?" Alistair Oh raised his eyebrows. "I'd hate to see the difficult ones."**

"I miss Alistair," Amy said.

"Why didn't they bring him?" Dan asked.

They were quiet as they did the eye talk thing. Dan raised his eyebrows and Amy rolled her eyes.

"For the love of chocolate, his dog did _not _eat him!" Amy said.

"It's a possibility," Dan said.

"You guys are creepy how you do that," Jonah said.

The twins nodded.

"**However," Mr. McIntyre continued, "there are many paths to each clue. Hints and secrets have been buried for you to find – clues to the clues, if you will."**

"**I'm getting a headache," Sinead Starling said.**

Ned stuck his finger up. "Don't you even talk about getting headaches," he growled, holding his head. "Ow."

"Sorry," Sinead said.

He shot her a look but rolled his eyes.

"**How you proceed is entirely up to you," Mr. McIntyre said. "But remember: You all seek the same end, and only one team will succeed. Speed is of the essence."**

**Irina Spasky folded her clue, stuck it in her purse, and walked out the door.**

**Alistair Oh frowned. "It seems Cousin Irina has an idea."**

**The Starling triplets put their heads together. Then, as if they'd gotten a collective brain flash, they stood up so fast they knocked over their chairs and ran outside.**

"I still can't believe you brought up popcorn in the middle of that," Ted said.

"What?" Sinead said, shrugging. "It looked like Natalie was going to kill Dan and…" She noticed the whole table was staring at her. "Uh, never mind…"

**Jonah Wizard's dad pulled him into the corner. They had a heated discussion and his dad typed some stuff into his BlackBerry.**

"Does your dad ever put that thing down?" Natalie asked.

Jonah shook his head. "Only when he's asleep."

"**Gotta jet," Jonah said. "Later, losers." And off they went.**

"I feel American saying that," Ian mumbled.

"We're converting you, Cobra!" Dan said. He spread his arms and had a goofy grin.

Ian gave him his famous "You're _kidding, _right?" look. Dan dropped his arms and his smile.

"Forget you."

**That made three teams already out the door, and Dan still had no idea what the clue meant.**

"**Well." Ian Kabra stretched lazily, like he had all the time in the world. Are you ready, dear sister?"**

"**To make fools of our American cousins?" Natalie smiled. "Anytime."**

"Of course!" Natalie said, waving her hand.

"Shush, airhead," Dan said.

"Do you want to die?" Natalie asked.

Dan rolled his eyes. "I'm not hungry; therefore, not scared."

Ian wrote down something and showed Amy. Amy laughed. Dan and Natalie looked at them like they were idiots as the paper passed down the table. Everyone snickered and Sinead whispered it in her brother's ear. He chuckled.

"What?" Natalie demanded. She snatched it from Madison and Reagan who about jumped over the table, evil-death looks on their face. Jonah and Hamilton, who were sitting across from them, leaned away. Natalie glared at Ian. "HE IS NOT MY FRIEND!"

"WHAT?" Dan yelled, snatching the paper from her. She tried to pull and it became a tug of war game.

"Yes," Hamilton said with a stupid grin on his face, "you're best friend's the Joker."

She lurched towards him and he went Heisman mode, putting one hand close to her face and one like he was holding a football.

Ian rolled his eyes and muttered "Demon Sister".

**Dan tried to trip them as they walked past, but they nimbly stepped over his leg and kept going.**

"**All right!" Mr. Holt announced. "Team, form up!"**

"Why do they keep calling him Mr. Holt?" Madison asked. "He's Eisenhower or Dad – end of discussion."

**The Holt clan shot to their feet. Their buff little pit bull, Arnold, barked and leaped around them like he was going to bite their noses.**

"Arnold's not little!" Reagan said. "He's special!"

"**Where we going, Dad?" Hamilton asked. **

"**I don't know. But everybody else is leaving! Follow them!"**

Hamilton face palmed.

**They marched double-time out of the Great Hall, which left only Amy, Dan, Alistair Oh, and William McIntyre.**

"**Dear me," Alistair sighed. With his black suit and silk cravat, he reminded Dan of a butler.**

Hamilton nodded as if he could see that.

**A butler with a secret.**

"Dun, dun, dun!" Jonah said.

**His eyes seemed to be smiling, even when he wasn't. "I think I'll have a stroll around the grounds and think about this."**

Dan snickered. "That sounds funny when Ian says it." His voice went to fake British, which neither Natalie nor Ian found amusing. "'I think I'll have a stroll around the grounds and think about this.'"

**Dan was thankful to see him leave. Alistair seemed like the nicest of their competition, but he was still competition. **

**Dan stared at the clue, even more frustrated than ever.**

"Hold up!" Dan said. "How did this guy – OMG IT'S RICK RIORDAN!" He began squealing like a little girl. "Room. Getting. Darker." And with that, he fainted and his forehead slammed into the table. Natalie laughed and pushed him out of his chair for the fortieth time today. She pointed and laughed, holding her stomach, even though she was the only one laughing _that _hard. Ian snickered, Amy laughed, Madison and Reagan ran around looking for a Sharpie, Hamilton and Jonah had the Sharpie and began writing on Dan's face and arms, Ted was confused, Ned was covering his ears, and Sinead was going through Dan's wallet.

"Someone spends too much on video games," she said.

"How can you tell?" Jonah asked.

"All there is in here is pictures of them!" She threw the wallet over her shoulder, where it broke a vase. She jumped and turned around. "Oops…"

"**Resolution. Fine print. Richard S–. I don't get it."**

"**I can offer you no help with the clue." Mr. McIntyre managed a faint smile. "But your grandmother would be pleased you accepted the challenge."**

Ian smiled an evil grin, and continued. "Dan shook his head…"

"**We don't stand a chance, do we? The Kabra's and the Starlings are rich.**

"And don't you forget it," Natalie said.

Amy looked confused. Ian showed her the book.

"See? _Dan _said this," he said.

Amy caught on. "Oh, that's right. Duh!"

**Jonah Wizard's famous. The Holts are like steroid monsters.**

"Excuse me?" the Holts said, slamming their fists into the table.

**Alistair and Irina seem so – I don't know – **_**worldly. **_**And Amy and I –"**

"**Have other talents," Mr. McIntyre finished. "As I'm sure you'll find out."**

"You're mean," Amy said to Ian, trying not to laugh.

"Me?" Ian said. "_Never._"

**Dan reread the clue. He thought about baseball cards, and letters, and autographs.**

"**We're supposed to find this guy Richard," he decided. "But why is his last name just S –?"**

**Amy's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. I remember reading that back in the 1700s, people used to do that. They would use only one letter if they wanted to disguise their names."**

Madison and Reagan got an evil look, but Reagan looked at Jonah and frowned. "Why didn't you tell me you had a Sharpie?"

Jonah slipped his hand off the table and into his pocket. "What Sharpie?"

"**Huh," Dan said. "So, like, I could say A – has a face like a baboon butt, and you wouldn't know who I'm talking about?"**

**Amy boxed him in the ear.**

"**Ow!"**

"YES!" Madison said, giving Amy a high-five.

"**Children," Mr. McIntyre interrupted. "You will have enough enemies without fighting each other. Besides" – he checked his gold pocket watch – "we don't have much time, and there **_**is **_**something I must tell you, something your grandmother wanted you to know." **

"So you _did _get inside info!" Jonah said.

"It was about the branches, dummy," Amy said.

"Still; you had help."

"No, we got tracked," Amy said.

"**An inside tip?" Dan asked hopefully. **

"**A warning, young master Dan. You see, all Cahills – if they know themselves to be Cahills – belong to one of the four major branches."**

**Amy stood up straight. "I remember this! Grace told me once."**

"So you _did _get inside info!" Jonah said.

"I didn't even know what she was talking about!"

"Sure," he said, folding his arms, "sure."

**Dan frowned. "When did she tell you that?" **

"**In the library on afternoon. We were talking."**

"**She didn't tell me!"**

"He's an idiot," Amy said.

"What are we going to do about him?" Hamilton asked.

"_We'll _carry him to his room," the twins offered. They looked at Amy for a yes or a no.

Amy shrugged. "I don't care. Just don't kill him."

They jumped out of their chairs and grabbed him, hauling him up the stairs. There were giggles and a loud _THUNK! _but none of them wanted to know what they were doing to them.

"Um, should I go ahead?" Ian asked.

Hamilton nodded. "They're having revenge."

"**Maybe you weren't listening! There are four branches. The Ekaterina, the**

"The smart ones," Sinead said. "Smarter than… well everyone."

"Psh, please," Hamilton said. "I'm related to George Washington and my branch put a man on the moon. Who's smart now?"

**the Janus, the… uh, Tomas,**

"HA!" Sinead said.

**and the Lucians."**

"**Which are we?" Dan asked.**

"**I don't know." Amy looked at Mr. McIntyre for help. "She just mentioned the names. She wouldn't tell me what we are."**

"You know, Madeline's a pretty name," Natalie muttered, fiddling with something.

"**I'm afraid I can't help you there," Mr. McIntyre said, but Dan could tell from his tone that he was keeping something back. "However, children, there **_**is **_**another… ah, interested party you should know about. Not one of our four Cahill branches, but a group that may make your quest more difficult."**

"**Ninjas?" Dan asked excitedly.**

"How are you and Dan even related?" Jonah asked.

The twins came down the stairs giggling with red cheeks. They glanced at Amy and giggled some more. The two sat down and snickered.

"What'd you do to him?" she asked.

"You'll see," Madison said.

"I can't believe we did that," Reagan said, giggling.

"Did what?" Hamilton asked.

They gave him looks with evil grins and Hamilton looked confused.

"Go ahead," Madison said.

"**Nothing quite that safe," Mr. McIntyre said. "I can tell you very little about them. I confess I know only the name and a few unsettling stories. But you must beware of them. This was your grandmother's last warning, which she made me promise to tell you if you accepted the challenge: **_**Beware the Madrigals." **_

"So you have to beware of yourself?" Ted asked.

Amy shook her head in annoyance.

**A chill went down Dan's back. He wasn't sure why. The name Madrigals just sounded evil. "But, Mr. McIntyre, who –"**

"**My boy," the old man said, "I can tell you no more. I've stretched the rules of the competition saying as much as I have. Just promise me you will trust **_**no one. **_**Please. For your own safety."**

Then, it hit Ian. "Oh."

"What?" Amy asked.

"Er, nothing."

"**But we don't even know where to start!" Amy protested. "Everyone else just rushed off like they knew what to do. We need answers!"**

"SNAP!"

**Mr. McIntyre stood. He closed his leather folder. "I must get back to my office. But, my dear, perhaps your way of finding out Is not the same as the other teams'. What do you normally do when you need answers?"**

"**I read a book." Amy gasped.**

"No!" Natalie said sarcastically.

"**The library! Grace's library!"**

"You say it funny," Natalie snickered.

**She raced out of the Great hall. Usually, Dan did not run with excitement when his sister suggested visiting the library. This time, he did.**

"Ok," a voice said from the stairs. "Who did it?"

Dan stood there in a pink dress, make-up, and Sharpie on him with his hands on his hips. He looked like a gay princess with tattoos. The whole table erupted with laughter as Dan began waving his arms around complaining that they gave him a wedgie. He pitched a fit and threw the dress off revealing a pink and purple ruffled peace spaghetti strap shirt. He screamed and looked at the twins.

"You two…" he growled.

They grinned.

"Where'd you find the make-up?" Natalie asked. "It looks permanent."

"You even had to put me in the pink room!" he yelled. "I mean, seriously!"

"Hey, Danielle," Natalie said. "Shut up and sit down."

His face turned red.

"Yeah, _Danielle!" _Madison sang. "Sit down!"

He stomped over to his seat, crouching low enough to hide the shirt.

"Read, Kabra," he hissed.

Ian snickered along with everyone else, and read:

**The library was next to Grace's bedroom – a big sunken parlor lined with bookshelves. Dan thought it was creepy being back here with just Amy, especially since Grace had died next door in her big four-poster bed. He expected the rooms to be all draped in black, with sheets over the furniture like you saw in movies, but the library was bright and airy and cheerful, just like it had always been.**

"Libraries are _not _cheerful," Dan mumbled.

**That didn't seem right to Dan.**

"Nothing does," Amy said.

**With Grace gone, the mansion should be dark and dreary – kind of the way he felt.**

"Sappy," Reagan sang.

**He stared at the leather chair by the window and remembered one time he'd been sitting there, playing with a cool stone dagger he'd busted out of a locked display case.**

"With his ninja like skills," Jonah said sarcastically.

**Grace had come up so quietly she was standing right over him. Instead of getting mad, she'd knelt next to him. **_**This dagger is from Tenochtitlan, **_**she'd said. **_**Aztec warriors used to carry these for ritual sacrifice. They would cut off the parts of their enemies that they believed held their fighting spirit.**_

"Tomas," Sinead muttered.

Hamilton glared. "Ekats."

**She'd showed him how sharp the blade was, and then she left him alone. She hadn't told him to be careful. She hadn't gotten angry because he'd busted into her cabinet. She'd acted like his curiosity was normal – even admirable. **

**No adult ever understood Dan that well.**

_Nobody does, _he thought.

**Thinking about it now, Dan felt like somebody had cut away part of **_**his **_**spirit.**

**Amy began searching the library books. Dan tried to help, but he had no idea what he was looking for and quickly became bored. **

Amy rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.

**He spun the old globe with brown seas and weird-colored continents, wondering if it would make a good bowling ball. **

"Of course," Sinead said.

**Then he noticed something he'd never seen under the Pacific Ocean – a signature.**

_**Grace Cahill, 1964.**_

"That's old," Jonah said.

"**Why did Grace autograph the world?" he asked.**

**Amy glanced over. "She was a cartographer. A mapmaker and an explorer. She made that globe herself."**

"But… she's not a Janus. How'd she do that?" Jonah said.

"She's _Grace," _Ian said.

"True," Jonah said.

"**How did you know that?"**

**Amy rolled her eyes. "Because I **_**listened**_** to her stories."**

"**Huh." That idea had never occurred to Dan. **

"Seriously?" Amy said.

"**So where'd she explore?"**

**A man's voice said, "Everywhere."**

"That guy would've had a fist in the face if he would've done that to me," Reagan said.

**Alistair Oh was leaning on his cane in the doorway smiling at them. "Your grandmother explored every continent, Dan. By the time she was twenty-five, she could speak six languages fluently, handle a spear or boomerang or rifle with equal skill, and navigate almost every major city in the world. She knew my hometown of Seoul better than I did. Then, for reasons unknown, she came back to Massachusetts to settle down. A woman of mystery – that was Grace."**

Amy was stuck in a daydream about one of Grace's stories. Dan didn't say anything, even though he wanted to.

**Dan wanted to hear more about Grace's boomerang skills. That sounded sweet! But Amy stepped away from the bookcase. "A-Alistair. Uh…what do you want?"**

"There she goes, ruining everything again," Dan muttered.

"Shut it, Danielle."

"**Oh, don't let me stop you. I won't interfere."**

"**Um, but… there's nothing here," Amy mumbled. "I was hoping for… I don't know. Something I hadn't seen before, but I've read most of these. There really aren't that many books. And there's nothing about Richard S –."**

"Yet your smart brother figured it out," Dan said.

"My idiot brother with make up on," she said. "Yep."

"**My dear children, may I suggest something? We need an alliance."**

"Ugh, Alistair," Natalie said. "It's too early to ask that."

**Dan was immediately suspicious. "Why would you want an alliance with a couple of kids?"**

**The old man chuckled. "You have intelligence and youth, and a fresh way of looking at things. I, on the other hand, have resources and age. I may not be one of the most famous Cahills,**

"Well, isn't that an understatement," Madison said.

**but I did change the world in my own small way.**

"Yes, microwavable burritos changed the world by making more people obese," Natalie muttered, still fiddling with her nails.

**You know my fortune comes from inventions, eh? Did you know I invented the microwavable burrito?"**

"**Wow," Dan said. "Earth-shattering."**

Natalie and Danielle exchanged looks and each scooted away from each other.

"**There's no need to thank me. The point is I have resources at my disposal. And you can't travel around the world on your own, you know. You'll need an adult chaperone."**

_**Around the world?**_

"Seriously?" Jonah said. "Did you think it would all be in Attleboro?"

"Shut it, Rapper. Just shut it."

**Dan hadn't thought about that.**

Amy laughed a little. "Well, isn't that an understatement?"

**He hadn't even been allowed to go on the fourth grade field trip to New York last spring because he'd put Mentos in his Spanish teachers Diet Coke. The idea that this clue hunt might take them anywhere in the world made him feel a little lightheaded.**

"**But – but we can't help each other," Amy said. "Each team is separate."**

"Really?" Sinead muttered. "I had no idea."

**Alistair spread his hands. "We can't both **_**win. **_**But the challenge may take weeks, perhaps months. Until the end, surely we can collaborate? We are family, after all."**

"**So give us some help," Dan decided. "There's nothing here about Richard S–. Where do we look?"**

"Negotiation," Hamilton said. "Doesn't work on Ekats."

**Alistair tapped his cane on the floor. "Grace was a secretive woman. But she loved books. She loved them very much. And you're right, Amy.**

"Usually am," she muttered.

**It does seem kind of strange there are so few in here."**

"Sounds like he knows something," Sinead commented.

"**You think she had more books?" Amy cupped her hand over her mouth. "A…a secret library?"**

**Alistair shrugged. "It's a large house. We could split up and search."**

"Never trust an Ekat," Hamilton muttered. "They're devils."

Sinead thumped him in the face.

"Don't touch me!"

She poked him. "Touch!"

He poked her back. "Touch!"

They got into a poke war until Madison separated them. "Stop it!"

Hamilton stuck his tongue out at Sinead and folded his arms, leaning back with a mad look on his face.

**But then Dan noticed something – one of those random little details that often caught his eye. On the wall, at the very top of the bookshelf, was a plaster crest just like about the front door of the mansion, a fancy C surrounded by four smaller coats of arms – a dragon, a bear, a wolf, and a pair of snakes wrapped around a sword. He must've seen this a million times, but he never noticed that the smaller crests each had a latter carved in the middle – E, T, J, L.**

"Still before you," Sinead said.

"Still not wimps in lab jackets," Hamilton said back.

"**Get me a ladder," he said. **

"**What?" Alistair asked. **

"**Never mind," Dan decided. He began to climb the shelf, knocking down books and knickknacks.**

"**Dan, get down!" Amy protested. "You're going to fall and break your arm **_**again!" **_

"Do you still have your cast collection?" Natalie asked.

"No, the clown burned them," Dan said sadly.

Natalie continued to look at her nails. "Ok."

**Dan had reached the crest and he saw what to do. The letters were smudged darker than the rest of the stone, like they'd been touched many times. **

"**Amy," he called down, "what were those four branches again?"**

"**Ekaterina," she called. "Tomas, Janus, Lucian."**

"**Ekaterina," Dan repeated, as he pressed the E. "Tomas, Lucian, Janus."**

"You're branch is still second," Sinead said.

"Yes, but you're branch is still the ones who work in the medical tent in wars," Hamilton said. "Plus, our name's original."

**As he pressed the last letter, the whole shelf swung outward. Dan had to jump away to avoid getting squished into a book sandwich.**

**Where the bookshelf had been was a dark stairwell, leading down.**

"**A secret passage," said Uncle Alistair.**

"Uncle?" Natalie asked.

"Don't ask," Danielle said, yawning.

"**Dan, I'm impressed." **

"**It might be dangerous!" Amy said.**

"**You're right," Dan agreed. "Ladies first."**

"At least he knows _that_," Madison said.

And just as she said that, Alistair Oh was escorted into the room.

"Hello, children," he said.

* * *

_**A/N: AH! :O Sorry for taking so long to write it. My internet was down and when I put it on my flashdrive and tried to take it to my Maw's house (which I just found out was water in Egyptian), but my idiot cousin's broke it by seeing if it could float. Sorry for the Percy Jackson Hint again. PJO and 39 Clues are my crack. :D It might not happen again. Now, I have to go help Danielle - er, Daniel - go take of... his/her make-up. **_


	5. Beware the Wrath of Saladin, Cobra!

**Chapter 5**

The first thing Alistair said was, "Good God, Dan, what are you wearing?"

Dan shot him a look. "Not a word, Old Man; not a word."

"Must be his time of the month," Alistair mumbled, and the whole table erupted in laughter. Dan's face turned blood red.

Hamilton let Alistair have his chair and he went in the kitchen and grabbed him a stool. He sat down at the corner of the table.

"One more chapter," Natalie said. "Then, I'm going to bed."

Ian slid the book to Sinead. She frowned. Hamilton pointed and silently laughed like a two year old. She whacked him with the back of the book a couple of times, and he cracked up, blocking himself. She whacked him one last time that sent a _POP _across the room and opened the book.

"Hey!" Madison said. "Only _we _get to beat him!"

Hamilton snickered at Sinead, rubbing his shoulder.

"Idiot," she muttered, flipping to Chapter Five.

**Amy could've lived in the secret library. Instead, she almost died there. **

The Holts stayed quiet, looking around. Dan eyed them suspiciously, but stopped when Reagan ran her finger across her neck at him.

**She led the way down the steps and gasped when she saw all the books. They went on forever. She used to think the public library on Copley Square was the best in the world, but this was even better. It seemed more **_**library-ish. **_

"Yes," Dan said, "except for the fact that it had books in it."

Amy rolled her eyes and leaned back with her arms folded.

**The shelves were dark wood, and the books were leather-bound and very old, with gilded titles on the spines. They looked like they'd been well used over the centuries. Oriental carpet covered the floor. Cushy chairs were spaced around the room so you could plop down anywhere and start reading. Maps and oversize folios were spread out on big tables. Against one wall was a line of oak file cabinets and a huge computer with three separate monitors, like something they'd use at NASA.**

"Tomas," Hamilton coughed to Sinead.

"Don't care," she coughed back.

"Yes, you do," Ted said.

"Shut it, Ted!" she hissed.

**Glass chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling and provided plenty of light, even though the room was obviously underground. They'd descended a long way to get here, and there were no windows. **

"**This place is amazing!" Amy ran into the room.**

"**Books," Dan said. "Yay."**

"Of course I would about die in a library," Dan muttered, poking his pink and purple peace ruffle shirt.

**He checked out the computer, but it was frozen on the password screen. He jiggled a few file cabinet drawers, but they were all locked. **

**Uncle Alistair gingerly picked a red folio from the shelves. "Latin. Caesar's campaign in Gaul, copied in vellum. Looks like it was handwritten by a scribe around, oh, 1500."**

Jonah and Dan exchanged looks. "Camp Jupiter!" they said simultaneously.

**Dan suddenly looked more interested. "We could sell them? Like, on eBay?"**

"Seriously?" Natalie said. "Are you crazy?"

"You're asking a guy with a purple and pink spaghetti strap with Sharpie and Makeup all over him that?" he shot back. "Just a little."

"**Oh, shut up, Dan. These are priceless." She ran her fingers along the spines – Machiavelli, Melville, Milton. "They're alphabetical by author. Find the S section!"**

**They did, but it was a disappointment. There were ten shelves packed with everything from Shakespeare's First Folio to **_**Bruce Springsteen's Complete Lyrics, **_**but nothing with Richard for the first name. **

Jonah's jaw dropped. "She had… Shakespeare's First Folio… and you didn't save it from the fire?"

"No…" Dan said. "But I wonder if it had more funny lines in it."

Jonah was in shock. "Mother of God…."

"Calm down, Jonah," Hamilton said. "Calm down!"

"I'm calm," he said, gripping the table. "I'm really calm."

"**Something about that…" Amy muttered. The name **_**Richard S–, **_**coupled with the word **_**Resolution, **_**kept nagging at her. They went together, but she didn't know how. It drove her crazy when she couldn't remember things. **

"Still does," she mumbled.

**She read so many books sometimes they got jumbled around in her head. **

Dan had to make a smart remark to that. "Wow, _that's _a shocker."

**Then she glanced down the aisle. At the end of the shelf, curled up on a box on a small table, was an old friend.**

"**Saladin?" she cried.**

Ian's eyes got big. "No…" he said.

"You scared of the wittle bwitty kitty?" Reagan teased.

Ian shot her a death glare.

**The cat opened his green eyes and said, **_**"Mrrp?" **_**without much surprise, like he was asking, **_**Oh, it's you? Did you bring me my red snapper?**_

The door opened and all Ian could see was a tip of a gray tail waving in the air, prancing towards Amy. It rounded the corner and it froze.

Saladin.

He glared at Ian as if saying _Oh great, it's you. _He looked between Ian and Amy.

"_Mrrp," _he said.

He jumped in Amy's lap and continued to stare at Ian with a mean look. Ian glared at the cat. Amy snickered as they continued to stare.

Saladin hissed and snuggled in Amy's neck, smirking at Ian in his cat like ways.

_Devil's cat, _Ian thought, snarling his nose at the cat.

"Ian, are you jealous of a cat?" Natalie asked, keeping her distance as well.

Ian shot Natalie a look, saying, _one more word and I'll lock him in your room while you sleep._

**Amy and Dan ran to him. Saladin had the most beautiful fur Amy had ever seen – silver with spots, like a miniature snow leopard. **

Saladin purred, smirking at Ian as if he heard everything they had said.

**Well… not so miniature, actually, since he was pretty enormous, with huge paws and a long striped tail.**

Saladin's smirk fell. Ian smirked at the cat.

"Ha!" he said.

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy.

"First you get jealous of a cat," Jonah said. "Next thing you know, you're saying 'HA!' to a cat. Very sophisticated, Ian; very sophisticated."

Ian's tan face turned red. "Ok, Cripple."

Jonah pouted and folded his arms. "Well, at least I don't argue with a cat," he muttered.

"**Saladin, what are you doing down here?" Amy stoked his back. The cat closed his eyes and purred. Amy knew he was just a cat, but she was so happy to see him she could've cried. It was like part of Grace was still alive.**

"**Hey, Saladin," Dan said. "What's that you're sitting on, dude?"**

Ted and Ned snickered. "Dude." They snickered again.

"What?" Dan said.

"Do you know what a dude is?" Sinead asked, starting to snicker along with them.

"Yea, it's what you call someone like a friend, I guess," Dan said. "Why?"

The three Ekats snickered. "Never mind," she said as if they thought it was funny. "Amy might know, by the way she's trying not to giggle."

Amy's face was red with a grin on her face.

"What?" Dan said.

"Look it up," Ted snickered.

"You guys are sick," Hamilton said.

"Indeed," Alistair said.

"_**Mrrp," **_**Saladin complained as Dan lifted him up. Underneath was a polished mahogany box with the gold initials GC engraved on the lid.**

**Amy's heart skipped a beat. **

Dan fluttered his eyelashes. "Just like it does around _them!" _he said in a girly voice.

Amy's eyes narrowed. "Whatever, Princess."

"**It's Grace's Jewelry box!"**

**Amy opened it up, and there was Grace's personal jewelry, which Amy had loved since she was little. Grace used to let her play with these – a pearl bracelet, a diamond ring, a pair of emerald earrings. Amy hadn't realized until much later that the stuff was real – worth thousands of dollars.**

"Too bad we had to sell it," Dan said. "Well, most of it." He shot a look at the necklace around Amy's neck.

**She blinked tears out of her eyes. Now that she'd found Saladin **_**and **_**the jewelry box,**

"You found the jewelry box?" Dan scoffed. "Please you couldn't have found the library if it wasn't for me."

"I could have!" Amy protested.

"Yea, but by the time you did, the house would've already been burnt down!"

The two started yelling at each other until Alistair broke in.

"Children, please," he said calmly. "I want to go to bed soon without a headache."

**she felt like she really was standing at Grace's most secret place. She missed her grandmother so much it hurt. Then she pulled a very familiar piece of jewelry out of the box…**

Amy traced her finger on the necklace as Saladin hopped on the table and licked his paw.

"**Dear me," Alistair said. "That's her favorite necklace, isn't it?"**

**He was right. Amy had never seen her grandmother without this necklace – twelve intricately carved squares of jade with a green dragon medallion in the center.**

"Now I never see _you _without it," Dan said.

**Grace had called it her good luck charm.**

**Amy touched the dragon in the center. She wondered why Grace hadn't been buried with this necklace. It didn't seem right.**

"Nope," Dan said.

"_Mrrp," _Saladin agreed.

"**Hey!" Dan called. "Look at this!"**

**Amy found him around the corner, holding Saladin and staring at a giant wall map covering in pushpins. The pins were five different colors: red, blue, yellow, green, and white. Every major city in the world seemed to have at least one.**

"London?" Natalie asked.

"Of course London!" Dan said. "The red is for Lucians!"

"How did you figure that out?" Amy asked.

"Red: Lucian. Green: Janus. White: Madrigals. Blue: Tomas. Yellow: Ekats," he said. "Simple."

"Yea," Madison said, completely confused. "Simple."

**Some areas were stuck with only red pins, some with green or blue, some with several colors. **

"**She's been doing voodoo on the world!" Dan said.**

"Especially on the Cobras!" Dan said, agreeing with himself.

Natalie punched him on the arm.

"Ow." His face was straight. "That hurt _so _bad."

"**No, dummy," Amy said. "Those must be markers. They tell us where something is."**

"**Like what?"**

**Amy shook her head. She found the map creepy. "Maybe something about the Cahills?" She glanced at Alistair.**

"So I already knew," Amy said.

"That, you did not, Sister," Dan said in a British accent.

**He frowned. "I don't know, my dear. Most curious."**

**But he wouldn't meet her eyes, and Amy got the feeling he was hiding something.**

"He usually is," Jonah said.

"I beg your pardon," Alistair said, "but at the time, I had no idea. I had the idea later on, after it was gone."

"Sure," Dan said.

"**Look at Europe," Dan said. "And the East Coast."**

**Those areas were heavily pinned in all five colors. Amy could hardly see the cities underneath. If these pins represented the Cahills, then it looked like they'd started somewhere in Europe and spread across the world, heavily colonizing North America. **

"If you haven't realized, London is _not _in North America," Natalie said.

"No, I thought it was in Asia!" Dan said sarcastically.

**Then she thought: **_**Europe. Colonies. North America.**_

"JAMESTOWN!" Hamilton and Jonah yelled.

"No," Amy said.

"Aw," they said.

"I think you busted my eardrum," Alistair said.

**The name Richard S– started nagging at her mind again, trying to scratch its way out. **

"Ew," Dan said.

**A name from the eighteenth century, someone who had written resolutions…**

**Suddenly she turned and raced down the row of shelves.**

"**Hey!" Dan cried, as Saladin wriggled out of his arms. "Amy, where are you going?"**

"**The Fs!" she yelled. **

"**What for – **_**failure?"**_

"One does not say failure then win," Jonah said in his Old-Asian-Wise-Man voice.

**She got to the Fs and found it immediately: a tiny book, so tattered it was falling apart. The cover was decorated with a red-and-white woodblock print of Colonial farmers. The title was faded, but she could still make out: POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACK, For the Year 1739, by Richard Saunders.**

Jonah buzzed in (meaning, he slapped the table). "Benjamin Franklin!"

"It took you long enough!" Natalie said. "I already knew it."

"_I already knew it," _Jonah mimicked.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Oh please, at least I can get up the stairs."

He pouted. "Stop with the cripple jokes!" he said, rubbing his cast.

"**Of course!" Uncle Alistair said. "Very good, my dear. Very good, indeed!"**

**Despite herself, Amy felt flush with pride.**

"**Wait a second," Dan said. "If this was written by Richard Saunders, what's it doing under F?"**

"**Richard Saunders was a pseudonym," Uncle Alistair explained.**

"A fake foot?" Madison and Reagan said together.

**Dan knit his eyebrows. "A fake foot?"**

"Ha-ha, you two are more like him than you thought," Hamilton said.

**Amy wanted to strangle him, but Alistair said patiently, "No, my dear boy. You're thinking of a pseudopod. A pseudonym is a fake name, a nom de plume, a disguise for the author. This book was written by a very famous person."**

"**Benjamin Franklin," Amy said. "I did a report on him last year."**

"You do reports on everyone," Dan said.

"At least I didn't do what you did and swing that Japanese sword around over your head while standing on a desk!" Amy said.

"Hey," Dan said. "She asked me why I was gone. I told her and gave her proof!"

"She fainted and ended up in the hospital!"

"I said I was sorry!"

**She opened the book. The text was printed in black letters without much punctuation, so it was hard to read, but there were charts, illustrations, columns of numbers. "This is the most famous thing Franklin ever published. Poor Richard was a character Franklin created.**

"He made life!" Dan said.

**He had lots of pseudonyms like that. When he wrote, he would pretend he was different people."**

"He probably couldn't get a girlfriend," Hamilton said.

"Ian, you're awful quiet," Natalie said. She looked up and saw Saladin sitting directly in front of Ian licking his paw. He was glaring at Ian the whole time, as if saying, _you. It's you. I will glare until you leave. If you touch me, these claws will come out, and I will shred your face. Understood? _

"Cree – AGH!" Ian managed.

Saladin lunged, making an angry cat noise, and Ian threw himself on the floor, barely missing the cat's claws. Saladin began hissing at him like he had rabies. Ian froze. Then, like it never happened, Saladin went back to his normal self, jumped in Amy's lap, and purred.

Ian slowly got in his seat. Amy was petting Saladin to keep him from going anywhere. Saladin opened one eye and glared at Ian. That's when they noticed a giant scratch down Ian's arm. Saladin looked at it and purred, saying, _Be afraid. Be __very __afraid of the wrath of Saladin!_

Dan and Natalie were cracking up.

"You're scared of Saladin!" Dan gasped in between breaths.

Ian wiped the blood off of his arm. He didn't speak, and from the look Saladin was giving him, he wasn't sure he should.

"Ok," Sinead said.

"**So we're related to a guy with multiple personalities," Dan said. "That's great. Aren't almanacs for sports?"**

Hamilton grinned. "Yes, and sports are a Tomas specialty."

"UGH!" Sinead yelled. She whacked him with the book and he laughed. "You're an idiot!"

After she finished beating Hamilton and having to get Jonah to get her not to break the book, she huffed and opened the book back.

"**Not this kind," Amy said. "This has facts for farmers. It's like a year book with useful tips and articles. Franklin put all his famous quotations in there, like 'Early to bed, early to rise.'"**

"Which is not happening now," Alistair grumbled, checking his watch.

"**Uh-huh."**

"**And 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.'"**

"**Why would farmers care if stones are mossy or not?"**

**Amy was tempted to whack him with the book. Maybe that would loosen the stones in is head. **

"Hey!" Dan said.

**But she kept her cool. "Dan, the point is that he got very famous for this. And he made tons of money."**

"So if I said something like… Benjamin Franklin-y, I could be rich?" Madison said. "Awesome!"

"Er, no," Sinead said. "It doesn't work like that."

"AW!" she whined.

"**Okay…" Dan fished out the piece of paper with their first clue. He frowned at it. "So we found Richard S –. How does that help us find our treasure? And what's **_**RESOLUTION **_**mean?"**

"Why'd you yell?" Hamilton asked after he jumped.

"It's in all caps," Sinead said with an evil grin.

"**Franklin used to write resolutions for himself," Amy said, "rules he wanted to follow to improve himself." **

"**Like New Year's resolutions?" **

"**Sort of, but he wrote them all year round. Not just on New Year's."**

"**So was that part of **_**Poor Richard's Almanack?"**_

**Amy knit her eyebrows. "No," she said uneasily. "His resolutions were from a different book His autobiography, I think.**

Dan smiled. "If it wrote an autobiography –"

"It wouldn't sell," Natalie said to cut him off.

**Maybe the word **_**RESOLUTION **_**in the clue was just to help us think of Benjamin Franklin. I'm not sure…"**

"Stop yelling!" Hamilton said.

"Nope!" Sinead said, the evil grin still on her face.

**She turned the page in **_**Poor Richard's Almanack. **_**Notes were scribbled in the margins in several different handwriting styles. She caught her breath. She recognized one line of elegant script, written in purple ink at the bottom of the page. She'd seen the same handwriting in old letters – treasures that Grace would show her from time to time. The notation simply read **_**Follow Franklin, first clue. Maze of Bones.**_

"Freaky," Jonah said.

"**Mom wrote in here!" she cried. "She always used purple pen!"**

"_**What?" **_**Dan said. "Lemme see!" **

"**May I?" Alistair asked. **

"Un. Fair," Dan grumbled.

**Amy wanted to hold the book forever. She wanted to devour every word her mother had written in it. But reluctantly, she handed it to Alistair. "I want it right back," she insisted.**

"**No fair!" Dan said.**

**Alistair put on his glasses and examined a few pages. "Interesting. Several generations have held this book. These notes here are in Grace's hand. And here, my father's handwriting, Gordon Oh. And here – James Cahill, Grace's father. They were brothers, you know, although Gordon's mother, my grandmother, was Korean."**

"So you're part Korean?" Jonah said.

"No," Dan said.

"Koreans are Ekats. Ekats aren't Madrigals. Madrigals aren't Ekats," Alistair mumbled.

"**That's great" Dan said impatiently. "But why was our mom writing about Benjamin Franklin?"**

**Alistair arched his eyebrows. "Obviously, Benjamin Franklin was a Cahill.**

"Obviously," Dan said.

**That does not surprise me. He was an inventor like me, after all. I would imagine most of the books in this library were written by members of our family, whether they know their true bloodline or not."**

**Amy was stunned. All of these famous authors… Cahills? **

"Mostly Janus's, but you can say that," Jonah said.

**Was it possible, whenever she'd sat in a library, lost in books, she'd actually been reading words of her relatives?**

"Mostly Janus's," Jonah said. "Oh, and Dan, Rick is a Janus."

Dan began bouncing in his seat, singing "I'm related to Rick Riordan, I'm related to Rick Riordan!"

Natalie forced herself not to stab him with a fork.

**She couldn't believe the Cahills could be so powerful, but Mr. McIntyre had told them their family had shaped human civilization. For the first time, she began to understand what that might mean. She felt like an enormous **

"… crayon," Sinead accidentally said, "er, I mean…"

**canyon had opened up at her feet.**

**How had her mother known about the first clue, years before the contest began? Why had chosen to write in this book? What did she mean by the Maze of Bones? There were too many questions.**

"Especially when a crayon opened at your feet," Hamilton said.

"I can kill you and not leave a single particle left," Sinead hissed.

"I'd like to see you try," Hamilton challenged.

"Don't tempt me," Sinead said.

Alistair muttered some words in Korean. Saladin was asleep and Ian looked ready to bolt away from it.

Hamilton and Sinead began yelling at each other like little kids. Alistair walked in the kitchen, grabbed two cups of water, and threw it in their faces. They froze in shock.

"Stop," Alistair said. "I have a headache." He looked at the ceiling. "Please send another adult for these five year olds. The only one with any sense is…" he looked around. "Please send another adult."

"HEY!" the Holts yelled.

"_WHAT_?" Jonah exclaimed.

Natalie scoffed. Dan pouted. The Starlings protested. Ian stayed silent because he didn't want to get mauled by a cat. Amy petted Saladin, ignoring Alistair and Alistair sat back down.

"Please," he said to Sinead. "Continue."

Sinead picked the book up, muttered a few choice words, and read:

**Meanwhile, Dan was bouncing around in his usual annoying way. "I'm related to Benjamin Franklin? You're kidding!"**

"**Why don't you got fly a kite in a storm and see if you get electrocuted?" Amy suggested.**

"I don't have a kite," Dan grumbled, "or I would."

"**Come now, children," Alistair said. "We have much work to do without bickering. **

"See?" Alistair said. "Words of wisdom."

"Sure," Jonah said. "But I do have sense."

"_That _can be debated," Natalie scoffed.

**We'll have to read through these notes and –"**

"**Wait." Amy's whole body tensed. An acrid smell filled the air. "Is someone smoking?"**

The Holts tensed. The twins and Hamilton shared a look, but something about it was… guilty? Dan couldn't tell, but they were hiding something.

**Uncle Alistair and Dan looked around in confusion.**

**Then Amy saw it. White smoke was thickening across the ceiling, drifting down in a deadly haze.**

"**Fire!" Dan yelled. "Get to the stairs!"**

Amy had frozen. Saladin looked up, since she stopped stroking his back.

"_Mrrp?" _he said.

Amy and Dan exchanged a look, and Ian noticed the Holts looked very guilty.

**But Amy froze. She was mortally afraid of fire. It brought back bad memories. Very bad memories.**

_Mom and Dad, _she thought. _Koala gown. Isabel. Cora. Eisenhower. Alistair. Fire. _

"_Mrrp?" _Saladin said, snuggling up against her. He stretched and went to sleep.

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Ian looking at her out of the corner of his. She looked over and he looked down at his hands while his fingers twiddled around, meaning he was obviously bored.

She inwardly sighed. He had those amber eyes that always look sad like he knew that something bad will happen, and all Amy wanted to do was give him a hug and cheer him up, and maybe a kiss…

But he didn't like her like that. He was bored hearing about her stupid time thinking about her fear of fire. He bored sitting next to her. He was scared of the cat in her lap, and he thought – wait, knew – he was better than her. If only he did like her…

"**Come on!" Dan tugged her hand. "Saladin – we have to find him!"**

**That jolted Amy into action. **

She snapped out of her daydream about Ian and paid attention. Sort of…

**She couldn't let anything happen to the cat.**

"**There's no time!" Uncle Alistair insisted. "We must get out!"**

**Amy's eyes stung. She could hardly breathe. She searched for Saladin, but he'd disappeared. Finally, Dan dragged her up the stairs and shoved his shoulder against the secret bookshelf door. It wouldn't budge.**

The Holts exchanged looks.

"Should we?" Reagan said.

Madison nodded. "Hamilton, you're the oldest; you say it."

Hamilton's face turned red. "No, Reagan, you do it. You're the youngest!"

"Ugh!" Reagan looked at Amy and Dan. "Sorry for trying to make you guys charcoal."

"_You _did it?" they yelled.

"Dad made us!" Madison yelled back. "We were only supposed to smoke you guys out, but it got out of hand."

Amy and Dan sighed. "It's fine," they said. "We're rebuilding it anyways."

"Can't rebuild _Shakespeare's First Folio," _Jonah grumbled.

"**A lever," Dan coughed. "There's got to be a lever."**

**Dan was usually good at figuring out mechanical stuff, but they groped around for a switch or a lever and found nothing. The smoke was getting thinker. Amy pushed on the wall and yelped. "The surface is getting hotter! The fire's coming from the other side. We **_**can't **_**open it!"**

"**We have to!" Dan insisted, but it was Amy's turn to pull **_**him **_**along. She dragged him back downstairs. The smoke was so bad they could barely see each other. **

_Now we look bad, _Hamilton thought. _Great. Thanks, Dad. You're just making us look worse than we did a while back. _

"**Get as low as you can!" Amy said. She and Dan crawled through the library, desperately looking for another exit. She had no idea where Uncle Alistair had disappeared. The bookshelves were combusting – old dry paper, the perfect kindling.**

Jonah covered his ears. "I can't listen to this."

**Amy pulled herself up on a table and found the jewelry box. **_**Don't take valuables. **_**She knew that was one of the first rules of getting out of a fire alive. But she scooped up the box and kept going.**

"Oh, breaking the rules now, are we?" Natalie said.

**The heat was getting worse. The air filled with ash. It was like breathing in a poison fog. Amy couldn't even crawl fast because she was wearing her stupid funeral dress.**

"So you didn't like yours," Dan said. "I was correct!"

Natalie laid her head down on the table. "Continue, please."

**She heard Dan wheezing behind her. His asthma – he hadn't had an attack in months, but this smoke might kill him if the heat didn't. **

"You have asthma?" Natalie asked.

"Yea," Dan said. "Always have."

"Oh."

_**Think, **_**she ordered herself. If she were Grace, she would never make a secret room with only one exit.**

**Amy sank to the floor, coughing and choking. All she could see was the oriental carpet – a parade of woven silk dragons. **

"I would hate to have to sew that," Jonah said, yawning.

**Dragons… like the one on Grace's necklace. And they were all flying in the same direction, like they were leading the way. It was a crazy idea, but it was all she had. **

"**Follow me!" Amy said.**

**Dan was wheezing too badly to answer. Amy crawled along, looking back now and then to make sure he was still behind her. The dragons lead them between two burning bookshelves and dead-ended in front of an air gate about three feet square. Not very big, but maybe big enough. Amy kicked at the grate with her feet. On the third try it rattled off, revealing a stone shaft slanting up.**

"**Dan!" she yelled. "Go!"**

**She pushed him through and realized with a start that he was holding Saladin.**

"You saved the cat, yet you were wheezing," Alistair said.

Saladin hissed at him and went back to sleep.

**Somehow, he'd found the cat, and the cat was not happy about it.**

_When is he ever happy? _Ian thought.

**Saladin clawed and growled, but Dan held him tight. Amy followed, gasping for breath. Her eyes felt like they were being sandblasted. They climbed up the dark shaft, and after what seemed like ages, Dan stopped.**

"**What are you doing?" Amy demanded. The heat wasn't as bad now, but the smoke was still thickening around them.**

"**Blocked!" Dan wheezed.**

"**Push it!"**

**In total darkness, she crawled up next to him and together they pushed on a flat smooth stone that was blocking their path. It had to open. It **_**had **_**to.**

Amy was replaying the scene in her head, knowing Dan could've died and so could she if the thing wouldn't have opened. Her hand was hanging at her side while she was in a daydream. She felt something brush the outside of it. Her daydream faded as quick as it came and she looked over. Ian pulled his hand away.

_Sorry, _he mouthed.

She smiled a light smiled and put her hand back in her lap. His eyes studied her face for a second, but he looked away, biting his bottom lip.

She petted Saladin, but she didn't mind that their hands brushed. Actually, she wished it was more than a brush.

**And finally, it did – popping up like a lid. Daylight blinded their eyes. They crawled out into fresh air and collapsed on the grass. Saladin got free with an indignant **_**"MRRRRP!" **_**and shot off into the trees. They were lying in the cemetery, not fifty feet from Grace's newly filled grave. The slab they'd pushed aside was somebody's tombstone.**

"So, you rose from the grave?" Hamilton said.

"Yes!" Dan said, smiling.

Slight snoring came from Natalie, who was asleep on the table with her head in her arms. Her hair hung around her arms and she was completely still.

"Great," Dan said. "Now I can't annoy her."

"**Dan, you okay?" she asked.**

**Dan's face was streaked with soot. Steam rose from his hair and his clothes were even blacker than they had been before. He was breathing heavily. His arms bled from a hundred cat scratches. **

Ian rubbed the cat scratch, thinking that before he left he would have scratches and scars all over himself before he left. Maybe before he went to sleep.

"**Think…" he wheezed. "Don't want… collect tombstones… after all."**

**Smoke poured out of the tunnel like a chimney, but that was nothing compared to what Amy saw when she looked up the hill. Her throat constricted. "Oh, no."**

**The family mansion was a roaring inferno. Flames winked in the windows and lapped up the sides of the building. As Amy watched, o stone tower collapsed. The beautiful stained glass windows melted. The family crest above the main entrance – that old stone crest Amy had always loved – crashed down and shattered on the pavement. **

The Holts looked guilty. Hamilton was looking anywhere but Dan or Amy, Madison was poking Reagan to annoy her, and Reagan was whacking her hand every time she touched her.

"**Amy…" Dan's voice sounded like it was going to break to pieces. "The house… we can't let it… we have to…"**

**But he didn't finish. There was nothing they could do. A section of the roof crumpled, belching a fireball into the sky.**

Hamilton inwardly cringed. Big guy like him scared of an old clown and fire? No, he was a Tomas. He wasn't supposed to be scared of anything. But fire… If only they knew where he'd been the last month.

**Despair crushed the air right out of Amy's lungs, like the house was collapsing on top of her. She reached for Dan and hugged him. He didn't even protest. His nose was runny. His lower lip trembled. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him it would be alright, but she didn't even believe it herself.**

_Still don't, _she thought.

**Then she noticed something that jolted her out of her daze. In the driveway lay a collapsed figure, a man in a gray suit. "Mr. McIntyre!" Amy cried.**

**She was about to run to his aid when her brother gasped, "Get down!"**

**He wasn't as strong as she was, but he must've been desperate, because he tackled her with so much force she just about ate the lawn. **

"Gross," Dan said.

"You did it," she said.

**He pointed up the road that led through the hills – the only exit from the property.**

**About five hundred yards away, half hidden in the trees, a man in a black suit was standing very still. **

"Fiske?" Jonah said, yawning.

**How Dan had spotted him from so far away, Amy didn't know. She couldn't make out the man's face, but he was tall and thin, with gray hair, and he was holding binoculars. With a chill, Amy realized he was watching **_**them. **_

**Amy said, "Who –" But she was distracted by the chirping sound of a car alarm being deactivated. **

**Alistair Oh, sooty and smoky, burst out of the mansion's main entrance and hobbled toward his BMW, cradling something against his chest.**

Amy and Dan shot the old man a look.

**He looked terrible. His pants were ripped and his face was white with ash. **

"I thought ash was black," Madison said.

Reagan shrugged. "I dunno!"

**Amy had no idea how he'd managed to get out. She almost called to him, but something held her back. Alistair staggered past William McIntyre with hardly a glance, jumped in his car, and peeled out down the driveway.**

Dan shot him another look. Alistair was too bust fiddling with his watch to notice.

**Amy looked back toward the woods, but the man with the binoculars had disappeared. **

"**Stay here," she told Dan.**

**She ran towards Mr. McIntyre. Dan, of course, didn't obey orders.**

"When does he?" Sinead said.

**He followed her, coughing the whole way. By the time they got to Mr. McIntyre, the entire mansion was collapsing. The heat was like a new sun. Amy knew there would be nothing left to salvage – nothing except the jewelry box she was still clutching.**

**She set down the box **

"Surprised no one stole it," Dan muttered.

**and rolled Mr. McIntyre over. He groaned, which at least meant he was alive. Amy wished she had a cell phone of her own, but Aunt Beatrice **

Hamilton covered his ears. "I thought you said she was gone!"

**had never allowed them to have one. She fished around in Mr. McIntyre's pockets, found his phone, and dialed 911.**

"**He took it," Dan wheezed. **

"**What?" Amy wasn't really listening. She sank to her knees and watched as the only place she'd ever cared about went up in flames. She pictured Grace telling her stories in the library. She remembered running down the halls, playing tag with Dan when they were little. She thought of the secret nook in the bedroom where she liked to read with Saladin on her lap. All gone. Her whole body shook. Tears welled up in her eyes. For the second time in her life, fire had robbed her.**

Hamilton glanced up at her, but she wasn't even looking at him. She was in the daydream again. He decided to wait until later to tell her sorry. With Dan sitting there in makeup, it wouldn't be right because… well, just because.

"**Amy." Dan sounded close to tears, but he put a hand on her shoulder. "You've got to listen. He took it. Alistair did."**

**Amy wanted to tell Dan to shut up and let her mourn in peace, but then she realized what he was talking about. She got up unsteadily to her feet and stared into the distance,**

_Like she's doing now, _Dan thought.

**where the BMW's taillights were disappearing around a hill. **

**Alistair Oh tricked them. He'd stolen the **_**Poor Richard's Almanack **_**with their mother's notes – their only lead in the quest.**

Sinead stuck the bookmark in and lay in on the table. She stretched and stood up.

"Well," she said, "good night."

Ian got up and walked over to Natalie, where he picked her up. "Can someone come open a door for me?"

Saladin woke up, stretched, and followed Dan upstairs. Hamilton and Jonah got up as Amy disappeared. Jonah looked at the stairs and then his cast.

"That's a lot of stairs," he mumbled. He picked his crutches up off of the wall and started to walk when Hamilton spoke up.

"Come on," Hamilton said. "I'll help you up." He picked Jonah up with ease and motioned Ian to follow. They walked upstairs right before Alistair helped Ned and Ted upstairs.

The twins walked in their room on the third floor.

"We aren't pranking him tonight, are we?" Reagan whined, crawling up the stairs.

"No," Madison said, right beside her, "but we are going to get payback tomorrow."

* * *

As Amy walked in her room, she slipped the book out from under her shirt and laid it on the table. _The Sword Thief. _

_Take that, __Ian,_she thought.

She locked it in her drawer, changed into some pajamas she found in the drawers, and crawled in the bed. Once she fell asleep, Korea replayed in her head like the time Dan got her iPod stuck on replay.

* * *

_**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I took so long (I know, I say that every time). I have a VERY important announcement down under this. **_

_**As for the OC/OOC (Sorry, I still don't get it), I'm not doing them. Thank you, person who sent me, like, fifty names, but I'm not using them. And for the person who sent the one about Violet Gomez, I would, but I don't want any awkwardness between her and... someone. I meant to say that last chapter, but I forgot. **_


	6. Alistair's Water Gun Bottle

**Chapter 6**

"HE CALLED ME AN IDIOT!" Eisenhower bellowed. He paced the floors, each step causing Cora Wizard's drink to shake.

"You aren't even a branch leader!" she said, sipping her Dr. Pepper through a straw. "I don't even understand why you are here instead of that Ivan guy."

"Because," Mary-Todd cut in before Eisenhower could throw Cora out of the window, "that's our kids in there. Ivan doesn't like us, so he told us to take his place instead."

"Obviously a Tomas," Isabel Kabra said while watching the TV's where Ian was walking towards the kitchen, keeping an eye out for that cat. The camera was hidden in the underneath part of the banister that looked over towards the table. Vikram nodded in agreement from the other side of the room where he was talking business.

"Aren't you supposed to be in jail, Isabel?" Bae scoffed, looking at his watch.

"So are you, Bae," she said. "The only one who's not supposed to be _entirely _is _that _thing over there." She shot a look at Eisenhower.

Eisenhower tried to lunge towards her, but Mary-Todd and the other one pulled him back.

"Count to ten, Honey-Bun," she said.

The other one walked back to the corner he was propped in. The Madrigal one. The one Isabel threw a knife at his head (which luckily, in his case, missed) and tried to strangle. The one who was supposed to be dead.

"Arthur," Bae said, "you're being awful quite back there. Don't you want to see what your kids look like since you haven't seen them in seven years?"

* * *

Ian looked around the hall as he walked to make sure that devil – Saladin, as they called him – wasn't here to attack him. Five in the morning, and Ian was up. He hadn't been able to sleep the two hours he'd been staring at the ceiling after he put Natalie in her bed. She will _not _be happy to find out she slept in her new dress.

He walked in the kitchen silently. He wasn't sure he'd be able to talk this whole time they were there. _Stupid cat_, Ian thought.

His head was hung low, lost in thought, when he thought he smelled food. Was that… pancakes? Ian looked up as he walked in the kitchen to see a black, blue, pink, purple, green, and white headed girl standing there with a nose ring and a ripped British flag T-shirt, faded jeans, and pink plastic shoes that looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Hey, Kabra," Nellie said. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Hullo, Nellie," he said. He nodded. "Of course not. I never can if there's a psycho cat trying to kill me."

Nellie took a pan out of the oven that had muffins in there. The scent in the kitchen when from pancakes to pancakes muffin blueberry and strawberry mix. Ian's stomach growled.

Nellie laughed and set the pan on the stove. "Want one? I figured you guys were here and Jonah had to cook, so I decided to make you guys something better than frozen pizza."

He nodded and she handed him one. "How'd you know about the frozen pizza?"

She pointed towards the garbage where a box was sticking out. "And Jonah's the only one who can't burn water, so yeah. Amy can cook, but… she cooks by herself. Everyone around her makes her nervous."

Ian nodded and was scarfing the muffin down. Nellie chuckled and laid some bacon on a pan. Footsteps came and they looked over to see a red faced and armed Dan.

"Hey Kiddo, what happened?" Nellie asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said. Then, he realized who it was. "NELLIE!" he jumped in her arms, squeezing her.

"Hey, Kiddo," she said. "Get off me."

He let go. "Is that pancakes?"

"And waffles," she said.

Dan smiled and ran upstairs, banging on every door. "NELLIE MADE BREAKFAST! GET UP!"

Nellie chuckled. "I worry about him sometimes."

Ian thought someone was behind him. If Dan was awake, that means…

"_Mrrp," _Saladin said, jumping on the stool next to Ian.

"Great," Ian said. "Just great."

A few minutes later after Hamilton about strangled Dan and Nellie had to separate them, everyone was eating breakfast. Sometime during the two hours they were asleep, someone had come in and added a section to the table. One seat in between Jonah and Dan was a Janus symbol with the name PHOENIX underneath. Next to Ian was a blank slot, but there was still a seat there. At the end of the table were three symbols, making the table freakishly huge. The two near Ian were Madrigals with the names FISKE and NELLIE. The one beside Nellie, who was in the middle, was an Ekaterina one, which had ALISTAIR under it.

"Good," Hamilton said. "Go to your own seat. I like mine."

Madison and Reagan giggled. "Of course you do," Madison said. "We saw your notebook for math class, _Ham." _

Hamilton ran his finger across his throat.

Alistair sat in his own seat and so did Nellie, who had already had first dibs on the breakfast. Everyone crammed in the kitchen, grabbing plates and putting it on their plates. Ian walked out first, with his plate that was full. Nellie and Alistair looked confused.

"I didn't eat yesterday," he said with a mouth full of bacon.

Once everyone except Sinead and Hamilton sat down because they were too busy arguing over bacon and Alistair filled him a spray bottle full of water (for reasons he figured out last night worked perfectly), Natalie decided to read, smirking and eating.

**Dan had always wanted to ride in a police car, but not like this.**

"How'd you want to ride," Jonah asked with a mouth full of eggs. "In the back with handcuffs?"

"Maybe," Dan said. "Maybe not."

**His chest still hurt from the smoke. He sat in the backseat of the police car with Saladin on his lap**

Saladin jumped on the table as if on cue and sat between Ian and Amy. _"Mrrp," _he said innocently.

**and tried not to wheeze, but every breath was like inhaling sand. **

"**If you'd just brought your inhaler…" Amy chided. **

Dan patted his pockets. "Um…"

Nellie tossed it to him. "Yea, you're welcome."

**But he hated his inhaler. It made him feel like Darth Cahill or something. **

"Luke," Reagan said, "I am your father."

Madison cupped her hand over her mouth and made the breathing noise. Then, they laughed at themselves and kept eating.

Saladin jumped off of the table and pranced into the kitchen.

**Besides, he hadn't had an attack in forever, and he didn't know they were going to get caught in a stupid fire.**

**He couldn't believe the family mansion was gone. **

Hamilton and Sinead walked in, neither of them having bacon. Saladin pranced back, his tail waving, and lay between Ian and Amy, holding a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Stupid cat," Hamilton muttered. Saladin lunged towards Hamilton's leg that wasn't covered by his cargo shorts. "OW!" Hamilton reached down and grabbed Saladin by the fur. He yanked him off of his leg, even though Saladin was clawing and hissing at him, causing four major scratches from each paw on his leg. He popped Hamilton across his face, leaving four deep scratches on his face.

Hamilton dropped the cat and grabbed his face. He looked down at his leg and saw that it was bleeding, too. He had claw marks and bite marks.

"Ouch," Jonah said.

Hamilton took his hand off of his face, where a drop of blood trickled down his cheek. Dan grabbed Saladin.

"Saladin," Dan scolded, "you can't hurt Hamilton. He's a friend. As for the Cobra…" he glanced back. "Go easy on him."

Dan locked the cat in a room and walked downstairs. Hamilton could feel the blood on his leg, but he wiped the blood off of his face with a napkin.

"You ok?" Amy asked.

"Yea," Hamilton said. "I'm fine."

"I don't think he likes guys," Natalie said.

Hamilton glanced at Sinead for a split second just to see her looking at her phone.

"Just go ahead," he said.

**He'd woken up this morning sure that Amy and he would inherit the place. Now there was nothing left – just a smoking mountain of rubble.**

**The police detectives hadn't given them many answers. It looked like arson, they said.**

"Accidental arson," Madison said.

**The fire spread too quickly to be an accident. They said William McIntyre would be ok. Amazingly, no one else had been hurt. Dan had told the police about Alistair Oh leaving the mansion in a big hurry. He figured he might as well get the old creep in trouble. **

"Excuse me?" Alistair said.

Dan made a nervous laugh. "Sorry."

**But Dan had said nothing about the thirty-nine clues or the secret library or the strange guy with binoculars. **

"**Who **_**was **_**the man in black?" **

"Me," a voice said.

Fiske walked in and sat down as the two guards walked out, locking the door behind them. "Please, continue. I want to hear this."

**Amy whispered, like she'd been thinking the same thing. She had Grace's jewelry box in her lap, and she was twisting her hair the way she always did when she was nervous.**

"**Don't know," Dan said. "Alistair?"**

Alistair made a laughing scoff. "Oh please, I would never wear something as dreadful as that."

"**He couldn't have been in two places at once." **

"**Mr. Holt?"**

"UGH!" Madison and Reagan said. "HE'S JUST EISENHOWER TO YOU GUYS!"

"**Mr. Holt's not that old, and he's a lot more buff."**

"**Aunt Beatrice dressed as a man?"**

Hamilton covered his ears. "She never leaves!"

Fiske glared. "I am definitely not my sister."

**Personally, Dan liked this idea, because Beatrice definitely had the "evil" factor going for her. After all, she'd just **_**left **_**them at the mansion without a second thought.**

_She left me at the church once for talking during a sermon_, Fiske thought.

**But Amy rolled her eyes.**

"**He wasn't anybody we know, Dan. At least, I'm pretty sure. But he was **_**watching **_**us, like he wanted to see if we got out. I think he set that fire to trap us."**

Fiske rolled his eyes, and then noticed Alistair's spray bottle.

"Why do you have that?" he asked.

"Watch and learn, Cousin Fiske," Alistair said.

"Ugh, you read funny, Natalie," Dan said.

"At least I don't interrupt myself every two seconds," Natalie shot back.

"I don't threaten to cut peoples tongues out!"

"Actually _that wasn't a threat it was a promise!" _

Alistair sprayed their faces. Natalie and Dan stopped and turned to look at him because that wasn't a mist bottle, it was like a water gun.

"Seriously?" they said simultaneously.

Alistair sprayed them one last time. "Yes; read."

"_**Mrrp," **_**Saladin said.**

"Is there anymore bacon?" Hamilton asked. "That cat took mine."

Nellie leaned back in her chair and looked into the kitchen. "I think so."

He stood up to go in there when Natalie gasped. "Don't. Move."

"Why?" he asked. That's when he noticed she was staring at his leg. He looked down and saw that there was blood trailing down his leg. "Oh, that."

Ned tapped Sinead with his elbow. She looked at him, but he looked away as she did. He held his head. "OW."

"I'll be right back," Hamilton said, walking towards the stairs. Once he was out of sight, he ran as fast as he could to his room. He tripped and fell on his bed like the klutz he was. "Ugh," he muttered.

"Ok?" Natalie said from downstairs. "Shall I continue?"

"**I agree with the cat," Dan said.**

"I don't," Ian muttered.

"**After that man in black and Uncle Alistair, I say we make a new RESOLUTION. Stay away from old guys."**

"I'm offended," Alistair said.

Dan smiled.

"**We'll have to be more careful about everybody." Amy lowered her voice even more. "Dan, our **_**mother **_**was involved in the thirty-nine clues. That writing –"**

"**Yeah, but that's impossible. The contest just started!"**

"**It was Mom's writing. I'm **_**sure. **_**She said, **_**Follow Franklin, first clue. Maze of Bones. **_**We have to find out what that means. This is just the kind of mystery Mom would've loved!"**

"And how do you know that?" Dan asked a little annoyed.

Amy shrugged. "I don't know."

Dan rolled his eyes. Amy will _never _understand how lucky she is to even remember their parents.

**Dan knew he shouldn't have felt annoyed, but he hated that Amy remembered more about their parents than he did. He would never have recognized their mom's handwriting. He had no idea what kind of person she'd been.**

Dan shot her a look and folded his arms over his chest. "Still do," he grumbled.

"**We lost the book," he grumbled. "We kind of failed already, didn't we?"**

**Amy traced the monogram on top of Grace's jewelry box. "Maybe not. I have an idea, **

"When _don't _you?" Dan mumbled.

**but we're going to need an adult. Alistair was right about that. We'll never be able to travel without one."**

"Now we can," Dan said, "ever since I bought the private jet."

"YOU WHAT?" Amy yelled.

"Um, yea, I was meaning to tell you."

"**Travel?" Dan said. "where are we going?"**

"Everywhere," Jonah said.

**Amy glanced at the cop. She leaned closer to Dan and whispered, "First, we need to find a chaperone. And **_**quickly. **_**Aunt Beatrice is going to call Social Services soon.**

"Good thing Ham's not down here," Reagan said. "She scares him because of…" She looked at Madison. "Can we tell them?"

"No!" Madison hissed. "Shush!"

"Tell us what?" Jonah asked.

The two clammed up.

**We need to get home, get our stuff, and get out. If the police find out we've been disowned, they'll take us to a foster home or something. We'll never be able to find the thirty-nine clues."**

**Dan hadn't thought about this. **

"Shocker," Amy said.

Dan smirked. "Not really, at least I didn't cause anything in _Korea."_

"I'm going to kill you," she said, her teeth gritted.

"Wait, what happened in Korea?" Natalie asked, suddenly interested in something that had Dan in it, for the first time ever. "Where's _The Sword Thief? _That one had Korea in it!"

Then a light bulb went off in Ian's head. He looked at Amy. "Exactly; where is it?"

She shot him a look that said _"Shut it or you die along with Dan and I'll personally make sure you're buried next to him." _

"Amy…" Dan said.

That's when she jumped out of her chair and sprinted upstairs to her room. The twins caught her midway. Sinead walked up behind them.

"What's in there?" she asked quietly as the twins let her go but blocked her room.

Amy whispered it in her ear. Sinead gasped. "YOU WHAT?"

Amy clamped a hand over Sinead's mouth just as they heard Hamilton cussing in his room.

"Sinead, you're the medical one," Reagan said. "Can you go help Hamilton? He's probably still trying to fix his leg."

Once Sinead left after the twins showed her to his room, they trapped Amy in a corner.

"Let me guess," Madison said. Her voice lowered to a whisper. "You kissed Ian, huh?"

"M-m-maybe," Amy stuttered.

"We saw the look he got jealous when Dan mentioned that Evan guy," Reagan said. "He likes you."

Then, they left and went to the table. Amy sat down, but her face was red.

"Where's the book?" Jonah asked.

"I dunno," the three girls said.

**He didn't know much about foster homes, but he didn't want to live in one. Would a foster home let him take his collection? Probably not.**

"**So how do we get an adult?" he asked. "Rent one?"**

"Yes," Jonah said.

**Amy twisted her hair in a noose. "We need somebody who'll let us do what we want without asking too many questions. Somebody old enough that they'll try to stop us. Somebody kind of pliable."**

"You mean the wood?" Nellie said.

"No, it means 'Easily Influenced'," Alistair said.

Nellie gasped and yanked her earbuds out. "I'm not easily influenced!" she protested.

Alistair squirted her with his spray bottle.

"Seriously?" she said. "Whose side are you on?"

He squirted her again.

"**Does 'pliable' mean we can lie to them?"**

"Don't try it," Nellie said.

"_**Mrrp," **_**Saladin said, like that sounded good to him as long as long as he got fresh fish.**

"_MRRP!" _came a loud annoyed cry from upstairs.

Ian grinned evilly. Amy rolled her eyes, but a grinned secretly at him.

**The police car turned onto Melrose Street and pulled up in front of their weathered brownstone apartment building.**

"**This is the address?" the cop asked. She sounded bored and annoyed.**

"Wait, was she like really buff and had a faint mustache?" Jonah asked.

"No…" Amy said. "Why?"

"No reason," he said quickly.

"It was a _woman?" _Dan said.

"**Yes," Amy said. "I mean, yes, ma'am."**

"**You sure there's somebody home? Your guardian or whatever?"**

"**Nellie Gomez," Dan said.**

"Huh?" Nellie said, taking out her earbuds out of her ears again.

"Nothing," Amy said. "But you might want to listen now because you're coming up."

"Finally!" she said, setting her iPod down. "Please, continue."

"**She's our au pa–"**

**His eyes widened.**

"See?" Dan said. "I thought of it first!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

**He looked at Amy, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing. It was so obvious even a Holt could've seen it.**

"_Excuse me?" _the twins yelled.

"You sound like Vicky Guerrero when you do that," Nellie said.

"Who?" Natalie said.

"WWE," Nellie said. "Mrs. Excuse Me?"

"Come on, Natalie," Ian said. "_I _know about Vicky Guerrero!"

"You do?" Jonah asked. "Oh, my God. I never thought I'd hear that."

"Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Natalie asked in shock.

"**Nellie!" they said together. They got out of the police car with their cat and the jewelry box and raced up the front steps.**

**Nellie was just where Dan figured she'd be – sacked out on the sofa with her earbuds in, bobbing her head to whatever weird music she was listening to **

"It's not weird," Nellie said. "It's _different."_

**while she punched text messages into her phone. A stack of cookbooks sat next to her on the couch. The top one read **_**Exotic Mandarin Cuisine. **_**Dan let Saladin down to explore the apartment. Then he noticed the empty carton of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia – **_**his **_**Cherry Garcia – sitting on the coffee table. **

"Oops," Nellie said innocently with a smirk.

Dan jumped up and ran to look in the freezer. He gasped. "YOU! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" He came back with a half empty carton of Cherry Garcia.

Nellie laughed evilly. "I know!"

Alistair squirted her. It was Dan's turn to evil laugh, which got him squirted, too.

"**Hey!" Dan protested. "That was mine!" of course, Nellie didn't hear him. **

"Or did I?" she said.

Dan gasped in horror.

**She kept jamming out and typing on her phone until Amy and Dan stood right over her. **

**Nellie frowned like she was annoyed she actually had to do work. She pulled out one earbud. "Back already? Whoa – what happened? You're all grungy."**

"**We need to talk," Amy said.**

**Nellie blinked, which was pretty cool to watch since her eyes were done in blue glitter eye shadow.**

"I knew I shouldn't have thrown that away!" she said, hitting her fist on the table.

**She had a new nose ring shaped like a silver snake. Dan wondered why she wanted a snake curled inside her nostril.**

Nellie touched her nose ring. "So?" she shot back.

"**What do we need to talk about, kiddo?" she asked.**

**Amy looked like she wanted to hit Nellie with the jewelry box. Dan knew she hated it when Nellie called her kiddo, but she kept her voice very polite.**

"You don't like me calling you kiddo, kiddo?" Nellie said to Amy to annoy her.

Amy frowned. "Ha-ha."

"**We – we've got a deal for you. A new babysitting **

"Au-pair!" Dan said after finally putting the Cherry Garcia back in the freezer.

"OW!" came a yelp from upstairs. Whether it was Sinead or Hamilton, no one could tell.

**deal. It pays a lot of money."**

**Nellie pulled out her other earbud. They had her attention now. Three words always worked with Nellie: guys, food, and money.**

"Really?" Nellie said like that was a shocker.

"Yes," Jonah said slowly like she was dumb, but she was acting like it. "It does."

She pouted. "Didn't have to be told _that _way," she grumbled.

**She stood up. She was wearing her ripped British flag T-shirt, faded jeans, and pink plastic shoes.**

Nellie looked down at her clothes. _I really need to get a new style, _she thought.

**Her hair looked like a pile of wet straw – half black, half blond.**

"Are you freaking kidding me?" she growled. "Thanks. See if I'm still going to Disney with you in California."

Dan's eyes got wide. "What? You promised!"

"That was before you called my hair wet straw."

"SNAP!" Jonah said. "Ok, it doesn't work without Ham. Where are he and his girlfriend?"

"She's fixing his cat scratches since he was cussing like a sailor when we passed his room," Madison said. "And we're working on them getting together, so if you ruin it, we with severely break your _other _leg."

Alistair squirted them.

"GOD!" Jonah said. "DOES THAT THING EVER RUN OUT?"

Alistair grinned evilly. "Nope; it's not even half way yet."

**She folded her arms and looked down at Amy. "Okay. What kind of deal?"**

**Dan was afraid Amy would freeze up, but she seemed to be keeping her nerves pretty well. Nellie wasn't as intimidating as some of the other au pairs they'd had.**

"Like Ms. Barrett," Dan said, shuddering. "She only lasted about a week, but she was creepy."

Amy nodded. "I thought she was going to take anything with sugar out of the house and make us eat nothing but bread and only drink water."

"**Um… it's a trip," Amy said. "You'd be our chaperone."**

**Nellie frowned. "Why isn't your aunt asking me about this?"**

"**Oh, she broke her neck," Dan blurted out. **

Madison giggled. "Hamilton would be freaking out right now – or rejoicing that she did break her neck."

Another yelp came from upstairs.

"Was that Hamilton?" Jonah asked.

"If it was, he screams like a girl," Ted said. "And if that's my sister, I will burn him alive in acid where you won't be able to find a single tiny particle of him."

"I'd love to see you try," Reagan said.

"Hardy-har-har," Ted said. "That was a hilarious pun."

**Amy gave him a look like **_**Shut up!**_

"**Broke her neck?" Nellie asked. **

"**It's not serious," Dan said. "Just a little break. She's, uh, going to be in the hospital for a while, though. So she figured we'd better take a trip. We talked to our uncle Alistair. He'd said we'd need an adult to go with us."**

**That last part, at least, was true. Dan didn't know where he was going with this, but he plunged ahead. He figured if he could just keep Nellie confused, she couldn't call him a liar.**

Nellie frowned and snatched Alistair's spray bottle away. She squirted Dan.

"HEY!" he protested.

She stuck her tongue out. "That's what you get! LIAR!"

Alistair snatched it away. "Go get your own bottle!"

He squirted her in the face.

"**It's this thing our family does," he said. "Kind of like a scavenger hunt. We visit a bunch of places and have fun."**

"**What sort of places?" Nellie asked.**

"**Oh, all kinds." Dan thought about the map in Grace's secret library – all those pushpins. "That's part of the fun.**

"You forgot to mention almost getting killed by an avalanche of rocks and then being dropped by _him" _– Jonah shot a look at Ian – "and _Hamilton."_

"It was an accident," Ian said.

"No it wasn't!" Jonah said, gripping his crutches that were propped up next to him. "You left me to die!"

"I came back and saved you!"

"Because you were forced to by the crazy lady with the gun!"

"SHUT UP!" Natalie shrieked as she slammed it on the table next to her empty plate. Her eyes seemed to be mad and sad at the same time. She moved her good foot over her still healing foot to cover it. "JUST SHUT UP!" She hated remembering it. She hated remembering her mum, and all of those moving trucks that came and carried away Natalie and Ian's mum's and dad's stuff. And if they said one more word about it, she was going to go in the kitchen and pull out that butcher knife she saw.

Alistair didn't squirt her this time.

"Seriously?" Jonah said. "What the –" He stopped. "Never mind."

Dan seemed to be a little nervous, because Natalie usually took her anger out on him. Natalie picked the book back up and continued even though she had a death grip on it.

**We don't know all the places at the beginning. We could go all over the world."**

_We did, _Dan thought.

**Nellie's eyebrows shot up. "You mean, like, for free?"**

"No, of course not," Nellie muttered. "I had to pay."

**Amy nodded, as if she were warming up yo Dan's methods. "Yeah, it could take months! Traveling to exotic places where there's lots of… um, food and guys. **

_Like Lester, _Nellie thought. _Poor guy…_

**But you wouldn't need to be with us the whole time – just for the adult stuff like buying airline tickets and checking into hotels and stuff.**

"You forgot to mention save your lives every once and a while," Nellie said.

Natalie shuddered, but the anger was slowly – very slowly – fading. If her brother or Jonah was next to her… boom. "Public airplanes – Ew!"

"That's all I rode on the whole time," Dan said.

"EXACTLY!"

Again, Alistair didn't squirt her.

"WTF?" Jonah yelled in non-abbreviations. Natalie pointed at him and laughed. That's when Alistair squirted them. They both gave him death looks.

"I know where you sleep at night," Jonah said.

"Yes, same to you," Alistair said. "It wouldn't be wise to try to get into my room."

"Why?"

Alistair grinned. "Because, Janus, I'm an Ekat; my rooms already wired in only two hours of setting foot in there."

"Oh."

**You'd have a lot of time on your own."**

_**Yes, please, **_**Dan thought. Nellie was okay,**

"Okay?" Nellie said. "I'm awesome."

"A little big headed, aren't we?" Ted said.

**but the last thing he wanted was her following them around too closely. **

"**How are you going to pay for it?" Nellie said suspiciously. **

**Amy opened the jewelry box and dumped it on the table. The pearl bracelet, the diamond ring, and the emerald earrings glittered.**

"That was _it?" _Natalie asked.

"No!" Amy said protectively. "But those were the best ones!"

_She's lovely when she gets protective or mad, _Ian thought.

**Nellie's mouth dropped open. "Oh – my – god. Did you steal that?"**

"**No!" Amy said. "It's from our grandmother! She wanted us to take the trip. She said so in her will."**

"Uh-huh," Nellie said, eyeing her suspiciously.

**Dan felt impressed. That wasn't exactly a lie, either.**

**Nellie stared at the jewelry. Then she picked up her phone and dialed. **

**Dan tensed. He had visions of Social Services – whatever that was – swooping in, guys with white coats and nets, maybe, taking them to a foster home.**

"Seriously?" Natalie asked. "They're nothing like that–"

Ian shot her a look. She shut up, biting her tongue. Dan raised an eyebrow. How did the Kabra's know about Social Services? Did they even have that in London?

"**Hello?" Nellie said into the phone. "Yeah, Dad, listen, I've got a new job for the Cahills."**

**Pause.**

"**Yeah, it's really good money. **

_That I haven't been paid yet, _she thought.

**So I can't make dinner tonight like I promised." Nellie picked up the diamond ring, but Amy snatched it away. "How long? Um… we're traveling. So a few weeks. Maybe… months?"**

**She yanked the phone away from her ear. On the other end, her dad was yelling in rapid Spanish.**

"That's the only time I've heard him say something like that," Nellie muttered.

"What'd he say?" Madison asked.

"I don't want to get sprayed again," she shot, mostly at Alistair.

Squirt.

"**Dad!" Nellie said. "**_**No, claro. **_**But the fall semester doesn't start for a month, and it's all, like, boring courses anyway. I could just take more hours in the spring and –"**

**Another burst of angry Spanish. **

"**Well, if you'd let me go to cooking school instead of stupid regular college –"**

**Her dad's yelling got slightly louder than a nuclear explosion. **

"That's pretty loud," Ian muttered.

"_MRRP!" _Saladin screamed.

"God, he hates me!"

"_**¿**__**Qu**__**ė**__**, Pap**__**a?" **_**Nellie yelled. "**_**Lo siento, **_**you're breaking up. I'll call you when I get a better signal. Love ya!"**

**She hung up.**

"**He's fine with it," she announced. "I'm in kiddos."**

"LIAR!" Dan yelled at her. "LIAR, LIAR, PLANTS FOR HIRE!"

"It's pants on fire," Fiske said. "Even I know that."

"Well, maybe I want to hire some plants to do my chores," Dan said defensively.

"What?" Jonah said. "A Venus Fly Trap?"

"Maybe it'll eat that cat!" Ian said, grinning with delight.

Amy popped him in the back of his head. "Don't say that."

Ian blushed, and then he realized he was blushing like a girl, which only made him blush more. Natalie grinned evilly at him, and then continued.

**On Amy's orders, Dan was only supposed to pack one bag. That meant clothes, but Dan wasn't interested in clothes. He looked around his room, trying to figure out what to take from his collections. **

"No wonder we saw you in the same thing all of the time for a month!" Natalie said.

"Shut it or my Venus Fly Trap will eat you."

**His bedroom was already way too small for his stuff.**

"That's why I need a collection room," Dan said to Fiske.

"Fine," Fiske said.

"YES!"

"But I'm still not going to Disney with you," Nellie mumbled.

"Please!" Dan said. "I'm not riding with Amy! Unless she's asks _HIM _to go."

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Or she asks the other _him,_" Dan said.

Amy threw the biggest book at him. It was a little short though and it whacked him in the stomach.

"Anger issues," he mumbled.

Natalie gasped and snatched the book away from him, throwing as far as she could in the sink, accidentally turning on the water, and causing the book to get wet. Ian face palmed as she went in there and threw it in the garbage. "Bad book," she mumbled.

**Against one wall were his tombstone rubbings. He'd have to fold them to pack them, and that would ruin him. His closet was stacked with plastic bins holding his car collection and coin portfolios – too many to choose from. Under his bed were boxes full of old Civil War weapons, his casts,**

Natalie gagged. "I thought we were through with those."

**his autographed celebrity photos, and tons of other stuff.**

**He picked up his laptop, which he'd bought from the computer science teacher at school for $300. He'd **_**have **_**to take that, because he used it to find out stuff and make money. **

_And Amy didn't need to know that last little bit, _Dan thought, noticing Amy raising an eyebrow at him.

**He knew the exact value of every trading card on the Internet. He'd learned to sell his duplicate cars at school and in the local card shops for a little more than he'd paid. It wasn't much, but he could make about $100 a month if he was lucky. And he **_**was **_**lucky.**

"A little big on the ego, eh?" Jonah said.

"Since when are you Canadian, _eh?" _Dan shot back.

"I'm not Frank Zhang!"

"Eh?"

**Unfortunately, he spent the money on rare stuff as fast as he made it. **

**He slipped the computer into his black duffel bag. Then he added three extra shirts, pants, underwear,**

"TMI," Natalie mumbled, snarling her nose.

**a toothbrush, his inhaler, and – finally – his passport.**

**Their parents had gotten them passports right before they died, when Dan was four.**

Amy bit her lip. It's only been six chapters, and they'd mentioned their parents in close to every one of them.

**Dan didn't remember why. They'd never used them. Grace had insisted on renewing them last year, which had seemed kind of silly to Dan at the time. Now he wondered….**

**He shoved the passport to the bottom of the bag. There was hardly any room left. **

**No way could he fit even a tenth of his stuff.**

**He dug under his mattress and brought out his photo album. It was a big white binder holding his most important collection: photos of his parents.**

Dan bounced his leg on the bar thing on the chair. _Please go by fast, _he hoped.

**There was only one. It was burned around the edges: the only photograph that had survive the fir. His mom and dad were standing on the summit of a mountain with their arms around each other, smiling for the camera. They both wore Gortex parkas and thermal climbing pants, with harnesses around their waists. Instead of helmets, they wore baseball caps, so their eyes were hidden in the shadows. His dad, Arthur, was tall and tan with salt-and-pepper hair and a nice smile. Dan wondered if he would look like that when he got older.**

_Moon-face, _Amy thought. _He looks like Dad already. _

**His mom, Hope, had reddish-brown hair like Amy's. **

Amy picked up a strand of her hair and looked at it. _I don't look like Mom,_ she thought. _Mom's prettier than me. Just ask Ian Freaking Kabra. "Lovely," Ian had said sarcastically in Korea. He definitely didn't mean that. _

**She was a little younger than their dad, and Dan thought she was very pretty. Her hat was an Orioles cap. His dad's was a Red Sox. Dan wondered if that was random, or if those were their favorite teams, and if they fought about which one was better.**

Amy nodded. "Dad got you a Red Sox toboggan when you were little. Mom hid it, so he just got you another one."

Dan pouted. _She doesn't know how lucky she is to remember them._

**He didn't know. He didn't even know if they had green eyes like he did, because the caps hid their faces. **

**He wanted to collect other photos of them. He wanted to know where else they traveled and what they wore. He wanted to see a picture that had **_**him **_**in it. But there was nothing to collect. Everything from their old house had burned, and grace always insisted she had no photographs of them, though Dan never understood why. **

"Either way, they're gone now," Dan said coldly. "It doesn't matter anymore." If he heard any more about his parents, he was going to leave, even if the guard had to stop him, he would be at least outside away from Amy and her know-it-all self.

**He stared at the photo and got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He thought about the fire at Grace's mansion, the man in black, Mr. McIntyre lying on the pavement, Uncle Alistair driving away like a madman,**

"He is a madman," Madison said.

Squirt.

**and his mom's handwriting in that Benjamin Franklin book. **

**What could be so important about a book? **

"Everything," Reagan said.

**Dan knew the value of a lot of collectibles, but he'd never heard of anything worth burning down a house. **

**Grace must've known what she was doing, setting up this contest.**

"Uh, duh," Natalie said.

**She wouldn't have let him or Amy down. Dan told himself that over and over, trying to believe it. **

**There was a knock at the door. He took the plastic sleeve with the photograph out of the album and slipped it in his bag. He zipped it shut just as the door opened. **

"**Hey, dweeb," Amy said, but she didn't sound mean.**

"When's Amy mean?" Jonah asked.

"You don't live with her," Dan said.

Amy grinned.

"**You almost done?"**

"**Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."**

**She'd taken a shower and changed clothes – back into her regular jeans and green T-shirt. She frowned at his full duffel bag, then looked at all the bins sitting in the closet. Dan guessed she could tell he hadn't sorted through them.**

"**You could, uh, take a backpack, too," she offered. "If that helps."**

**Coming from Amy, it was a pretty nice thing to say.**

"Amy's not mean," Ted said. "Where's my sister? Is she here and I can't… never mind."

"She's still upstairs with her man," the Holt twins giggled.

Amy rolled her eyes.

**But Dan stared at his closet. Somehow he knew he wouldn't be coming back her ever again. Amy, how much money do you think we'll get for the jewelry?"**

**Her hand went to her neck, and Dan realized she was wearing Grace's jade necklace. **

"That she died in," Amy said.

"**Um… I don't know." **

**Dan understood why she looked guilty. He wasn't an expert on jewelry prices, but he figured that necklace was one of the most expensive pieces in the box. If she kept it, they wouldn't get as much. **

"**They'll rip us off," he warned. "We don't have time to do it right. And anyway, we're just kids. We'll have to take the jewelry to somebody who can give us cash without asking questions. We'll probably only get a few thousand – a fraction of what the stuff is worth."**

"Really?" Ian said sarcastically. "I had no idea!"

"**We'll need transportation for three people," Amy said uncertainly. "And hotels. And food."**

**Dan took a deep breath. "I'm going to sell my cards and coins. There's a shop down on the square –"**

"At least it wasn't the casts," Natalie said.

"**Dan! You've spent years collecting that stuff!"**

"**It'll double our money. The store will rip me off, but I can get three thousand easy for all of it."**

**Amy stared at him like he'd dropped in from outer space.**

"But, you did," Natalie said again.

"Oh, yeah, you don't interrupt yourself at _all," _Dan said, rolling his eyes.

"**Dan, I think the smoke messed up your brain. Are you **_**sure?" **_

**For some weird reason, he was. He wanted to go on this clue hunt more than he wanted his collection. He wanted to get back at whoever had burned down Grace's house.**

He shot the Holt twins a look, but they weren't even looking at him.

**He wanted to find the secret of the thirty-nine clues. Most of all, he wanted to finally use that stupid passport and make his parents proud. Maybe along the way he'd find new photos for his album.**

"Or lose the only one I had," he grumbled, laying his head on the table.

"**I'm sure," he said.**

**Amy did something completely disgusting. She hugged him.**

"**Gross!" Dan protested.**

**He pushed her away. Amy was smiling, but she had tears in her eyes.**

_Like now, _Ian thought as he glanced over at her to see tears in her eyes. He wanted to hold her in a hug or hold her hand or… oh who was he kidding? She hated him. She'd probably look at him funny, pull away, and never talk to him again. And then he'd lose the chance at even being her _friend, _let alone _boyfriend. _

"**Maybe you're not such a dweeb," she said.**

"I lied," she said. "You're still a dweeb."

"That's the Amy I know," he said.

She grinned. "I know."

"**Yeah, well, stop crying already, and let's get out of – wait, where are we going?"**

"**Tonight a hotel in town," she said. "Then tomorrow… I've got an idea about Ben Franklin."**

"**But you don't have the book anymore."**

"**I didn't need the book for this.**

"What's taking them so long?" Jonah said, turning to look at the stairs. "I have to do my SNAP here!"

"SNAP!" they heard Hamilton yell from upstairs.

Jonah's eyes got big. "He knows…." He slowly turned back around.

SQUIRT!

Alistair chuckled.

**Mom's note said '**_**Follow Franklin.' **_**Ben Franklin started as a printed here in Boston, where he was a teenager working for his brother."**

"I get the history lessons _twice?_" Dan said. "Yippee. Yay. Woo-hoo."

"**So we just look around town?"**

**Amy shook her head. "That's what the others are probably doing.**

"SHE KNOWS!" Jonah gasped.

**But we're going to follow where he went next, like following his life. Benjamin Franklin didn't stay in Boston. When he was seventeen, he ran away from his brother's shop and started his own printing business in another city."**

"Like an entrepreneur," Dan said.

Natalie's mouth fell open. "Dan… knows big words…"

"Uh, duh!" Dan said. "Bill Gates was an entrepreneur."

"And he knows what they mean!"

Squirt.

"I'M GETTING TIRED OF THAT, OLD MAN!" Dan and Natalie yelled simultaneously.

Alistair chuckled.

"**So we run away, too! We follow Franklin!"**

"**Exactly," Amy said. "I just hope nobody else has thought of that yet.**

"Wrong-o," Ned said.

**We need to book three train tickets to Philadelphia."**

"**Philadelphia," Dan repeated. The only things he knew about Philadelphia were the Liberty Bell and the Phillies. **

"Yum," Dan said.

"**So when we get there, what do we look for?"**

**Amy touched the jade necklace like it might protect her. "I'm guessing a secret that could get us killed."**

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Madison said. "Now, Natalie, give me the book – you read slow."

"I didn't know Holts could read," Natalie said in her silky British voice.

"Actually, Hamilton's only sixteen and he's already got an early scholarship full ride to Notre Dame," Reagan said. She didn't mention it was an athletic scholarship, but what they don't know won't hurt them. Well, unless you're a Cahill, because then, you're screwed. Oh, well!

"Whoa, he's older than me?" Jonah said. "Aw…"

"He just turned sixteen a few days ago, so yeah. He is."

Jonah pouted. "Great; thanks."

"You're still older than Ian," Natalie said.

"I knew that."

"Ok, Dan, you're coming with me," Jonah said, picking up his crutches.

"Where're we going?" Dan asked, jumping up.

"To go see what's taking him so long. And… wow, that's a lot of stairs…"

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! I was on vacation and they didn't have WiFi and then I lost my plug to my laptop (I'm not making this up, I swear) and then I found it at my granny's house and then my friend from Texas came to visit and *sigh* sorry, July's always crazy for me because that's when my whole family wanted to cram their Vacations in. And Oh yeah, about the Hamead thing, I will make this clear so I will underline it and put it caps so you can hear me better: I LOVE JAKE AND SINEAD BUT I CANT BRING JAKE IN BECAUSE DAN DOESNT MEET ATTICUS FOR ANOTHER YEAR AND THAT SUCKS AND I HAD TO HAVE 2 COUPLES INSTEAD OF ONLY ONE. SO YEAH! BUT IF HAMILTON AND SINEAD BECOME "OFFICAL" IN THIS STORY, THEN... THEN... I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THAT LAST PART! :O**_


	7. Cameras, iPods, and Fish Faces

**Chapter 7**

"Crazy lady with a gun?" Isabel repeated as she suddenly stopped filing her perfect nails. She looked up at the screen, blood boiling. "_Crazy lady with a gun?!" _ This time, it was a shriek.

Vikram Kabra, even though he would've paid to see Isabel rip Cora Wizard to shreds, didn't feel like hearing them yelling. He grabbed Cora's arm and pulled her away from Isabel.

"Love," he said, unaware that he sounded like Ian, "calm down."

"_Calm down?!" _she screamed, flipping a chair. "Don't tell me to _calm down!" _

Eisenhower resisted the urge to laugh. That urge went away when he saw the United States Marine Corps KA-BAR strapped to her leg. Bae rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Isabel, please," Bae said, shrugging. "It's a Janus we're talking about!"

"Excuse me?" Cora snapped. "I'll have you know, you slimy piece of –"

"Keep it PG," Vikram said, an evil grin forming on his face as he, too, wanted to laugh hysterically. But that's something a Lucian leader doesn't do – in front of other branch leaders and his killer wife, at least.

"SHUT IT!" the two women screamed.

Isabel reached for her KA-BAR and Cora pulled out a gun with a silencer on the barrel, each of them ready to draw blood.

"It's gonna get a little bloody," Arthur muttered, looking away. Eisenhower and Mary-Todd snickered, and Vikram and Bae cracked a tiny smile.

Isabel was quicker than Cora, though. She knocked the gun out of her hand, caught it midair, and slammed the hilt of the gun on her head. Cora immediately crumpled, a gash that wasn't too deep, but wasn't tiny either, letting blood come out.

"Oops," Isabel said, smirking as she noticed the gun was on safety.

Bae knelt next to Cora, checked her pulse – which was fine – and looked at her head. Not that he wanted to be nice to this "Bloody Janus" as Isabel calls her, he didn't want the Ekaterina's freaking over another election for the Janus, that "The Cora Wizard" was killed by "Isabel Kabra, who's supposed to be in prison" because she bled out to death.

"She'll need stitches," he muttered as Isabel sat down in her chair like nothing had happened. Bae sighed, muttering, "And Isabel broke her temporary parole…"

Isabel grinned at Bae saying that. "Oh, thank you, Ekat. But, if you all will excuse me, I must get back at a certain pop-star."

* * *

"OW!" Hamilton yelped, Sinead bandaging his leg. "Oh, Slimy Lucians, am I going to die? You said cat scratches were prone to infections. Oh, for the love of –"

Sinead slapped his face. "Get ahold of yourself! You're acting like… like…" – she grinned – "like a non-Cahill who just got punched by a Tomas."

Hamilton suddenly stopped, blinked twice, and then sat up, glaring at her. "Not funny."

She grinned and taped the bandages to his leg. "Then stop whining."

He huffed, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm not whining," he pouted.

She shook her head, smiling. "Whatever." She scooted up towards him and put some of the alcohol on the cotton ball. Sinead dabbed it on his face, causing him to wince. Once she was done, she tossed it in the garbage and stood up.

"I'm done," she said, awkwardly.

Hamilton started to say something right as the remote fell. They both jumped as the TV turned on, revealing little squares with different… rooms in it? Why were there rooms? They looked closer at one when they noticed Number 03 was a dining room… with twelve people around the table… that looked identical to their cousins and siblings.

"Oh, my god," Sinead gasped.

"We're being watched!" Hamilton finished.

Right as they said that, there were two voices outside the door.

"You knock!" Dan hissed.

"You knock!" Jonah panted. "You didn't even _help… _me get up the… stairs…"

There was a knock. "Hey, open up the door!" Dan yelled.

Hamilton stood up and walked to the door. "Yes?" he said in his fake butler accent.

The two boys busted through the door.

"What's the big idea?!" Jonah yelled. "Come on; we have to read the next chapter – I want to finish this already because if I have to spend the night with Alistair again, someone will _pay!"_

Sinead and Hamilton exchanged looks quickly, and then ushered them out.

"Don't push me!" Dan protested as Hamilton grabbed Dan's and Jonah's collars and "helped" them down the stairs.

"Should we tell them?" Sinead whispered to Hamilton as she walked behind him.

He nodded. "Yea, but quietly; I think the camera has audio."

"What are you two talking about?" Dan asked. "Are you guys going out?"

Hamilton pulled Dan up by his collar so he had to walk on his tip-toes.

"Touchy subject," Dan said in the cartoon voice people have when they're getting choked.

Once they got to the bottom of the stairs, Hamilton pushed them on the couch lightly – and that moved the whole couch a good foot and a half.

"Now?" Sinead asked him.

"Ladies first," he said, smirking.

She frowned. "Gee; thanks." She looked at the table. "Guys, we –"

"No time," Madison interrupted. "The gymnastics on the Olympics are about to come on and Reagan and I have to be there to pull for Gabby Douglas. Read first. Talk later."

"But –"

"LALALALALA!" Reagan screamed, covering her ears and closing her eyes. "MADISON IS READING!"

Dan and Jonah, who were aggravated with the two, grabbed their shoulders and pushed them in their seats.

Madison picked up the book.

"It's upside down," Natalie said, smirking with annoyance.

"I know that, you annoying little twit," Madison hissed, turning the book over. She rolled her eyes. "_It's upside down."_

**A mile away in Copley Square, Irina Spasky – code name Team Five –**

"Oh!" Dan said. "Code names! I wanna be double-O seven!"

"James Bond?" Ian asked.

"No, John Dee," Dan said. "Ian Fleming used Double-O Seven off of him. He has you're name, you should know that, Cobra."

Amy was in the state of shock. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

Dan grinned. "I know – I'm smarter than I look! Just like Percy!"

**was worrying about her poison. She had loaded her fingernail injectors with the usual mixture, but she feared it would not be enough for this meeting.**

The Kabra's exchanged looks. Natalie grinned evilly, and Ian frowned.

"Don't you dare," he said.

"I don't have to – Madison is," Natalie purred.

"Whoa – Madison is what?" Madison asked, looking at Natalie with a suspicious look.

"Nothing," Natalie said coldly. "Read."

**Back in the Cold War, she and her KGB colleagues used poison-injecting umbrellas, or spray painted toxins on toilet seats.**

The Trio (Hamilton, Dan, and Jonah) gaped in awe. Their awe turned to evil grins and they all were thinking the exact same thing – find that spray paint ASAP.

**Those were the good old days! Now Irina worked by herself, so she had to keep things simple. The needles extended when she bent back her fingers at the first joint. They were almost impossible to see and caused only a tiny prick sensation. The poison would leave her victims very sick, perhaps paralyzed, for many days – enough to give Irina a good head start in the search.**

"Who was she going to poison?" Jonah asked.

Ian looked at Amy and Natalie looked at Dan.

"Wait – what?" Amy asked, completely confused. "Us?" She looked at Ian. "What'd I do?"

**Best of all, the poison was completely untraceable and had no antidote.**

**Unfortunately, it was slow-acting. Her victims**

"MWHAHAHA!" Jonah said evilly. "VICTIMS, BWHAHAHA!"

**might not show symptoms for eight hours or more. If she needed to incapacitate **

"You can say big words!" Natalie said sarcastically, clapping.

Madison about lunged across the table. Reagan grabbed her. "Don't kill her _yet!"_ She pulled Madison back. "Stay! Read!"

Madison huffed and plopped in her chair with a _THUMP! _She began reading again, angry at Natalie.

**her enemies quickly, she would have to rely on other means. **

**Ian and Natalie Kabra were not to be underestimated.**

Natalie squealed. "It's true!"

"Not this again," Dan whined. "It's too early!"

She rolled her eyes.

**Back when they were ten and seven, perhaps Irina could've overpowered them. Now they were fourteen and eleven… a very different story indeed.**

Amy noticed (unintentional, of course, because she was not thinking about stunning his eyes were) that Ian's eye glittered with amusement at that comment about him.

_God, he's hot,_ she thought. _Uh, er, I mean, GAH! _

Ian looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

_You're staring! _She thought. _Stop staring, you dimwit!_

Amy looked away quickly. That was embarrassing…

_Was she looking at me? _Ian thought nervously. _Is my hair ok? Was there something in my teeth...?_

**She wandered Copley Square, waiting to spot them. They had agreed on standard antisurveillance tactics, only setting a general area and time for their rendezvous. The storm clouds had cleared. It was a beautiful summer afternoon, which Irina hated.**

"Of course, she hated anything with color," Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

"She's dead," Dan said coldly. "That's a great thing to say."

"I didn't mean –" Natalie stopped herself, realizing what she was about to say. Giving Dan the right to make her regret saying something? Please, _that _is one thing that will never happen. Natalie rolled her eyes. "It's true and we all know it."

Dan smirked. He knew what she was going to say, and she hated it. She popped him in the chest with the palm of her hand, making a loud _POP_, causing him to yelp.

"Don't touch me!" he said. "My shirt is worth _millions, _but the price has probably dropped because _you _touched it!"

He flipped his imaginary long hair, put his nose in the air, and looked away like he was filing his nails.

Natalie pushed him out of his seat. "DANIELLE!"

For better or worse, Alistair had his spray bottle, and Natalie and Dan figured they were both going to be soaked before the day was over.

**All this sunshine and flowers and children playing – **_**bah. **_**She preferred a steel-gray winter in St. Petersburg, a much better climate for espionage. **

**She bought a coffee from a street kiosk, then spotted Ian and Natalie across the plaza, walking in front of Trinity Church. Their eyes met her briefly and they kept walking. **

**Irina's move.**

"Like chess?" Dan asked.

"Oh, god, he knows how to play chess!" Natalie exclaimed. "Someone pinch me!"

Nellie leaned over and pinched her on the inside of her arm.

"OW!" Natalie shrieked. "That hurt!"

"You said pinch you," Nellie said, shrugging. "I just did what you asked."

**She followed them at a distance, checking to see if they had grown a "tail" – **

Jonah and Hamilton snickered. "Tail," Jonah said.

Sinead pulled out her phone and texted Hamilton.

_When r we goin 2 tell them?_

He texted back: _I guess after this is over. Thx 4 rappin my leg. _

Ned poked her. Sinead looked up and he had an evil grin. Even her own brothers thought they were going out! She rolled her eyes and put her phone up. She glanced up at Hamilton and gave him a faint grin – her way of saying 'You're Welcome'.

**any surveillance, any followers, any possible angles for photographers. After fifteen minutes, she saw nothing. She waited for them to turn and see her.**

**As soon as they did, Irina turned and walked off.**

"Huh?" Nellie said. "Ugh, Lucians confuse me."

Squirt.

"THAT'S _IT!" _Nellie screamed. She snatched the spray bottle and threw it. "I gave you a chance, Ekat! Don't squirt me, _AGAIN!" _

"Geez, Nellie, take a chill pill," Dan said. "What's up with you?"

"My iPod is _dead!" _she whined. "D-E-A-D with a capital D! How am I going to survive?"

"Read a book," Amy suggested.

"Ha-ha," Nellie said sarcastically. "Like I'll ever do that!"

**The game reversed.**

"I'm not getting this game," Reagan said.

"Me neither," Madison agreed. "There's not even a football, a soccer ball, or a baseball bat in this game!"

"It's not a real game," Ian said. "Rick Riordan was probably meaning that as a reference for pes… _people _like you to understand."

Madison and Reagan, still a little confused, nodded, but they didn't catch the part about Ian about calling them 'peasants'.

**She led them across the plaza, toward the library, knowing they would be watching for tails for her. If they saw anything, Ian and Natalie would disappear. The meeting would be aborted.**

**After fifteen minutes, Irina changed course and noticed the Kabras acorss**

"Boilston?" Madison said, completely confused.

"Boylston Street," Amy said.

"Yea, what she said…" Madison said as she worked to find her place.

Natalie face palmed. "I told you," she whispered.

**Street, still shadowing her. That meant she was clean.**

"I hope she was clean," Natalie said. "I had to sit next to her, and if she wasn't clean, that would be disgusting!"

**No surveillance. The children turned toward Copley Plaza Hotel, and Irina followed. **

**They met in the busy lobby, where neither party could ambush the other.**

"Well, we could've…" Ian said to no one imparticular.

"_MRRP!" _Saladin screamed from Dan's room.

"I'm letting him out," Amy said, getting up.

"NO!" Ian and Hamilton yelled at the same time, both of their eyes huge.

But Amy ignored them. She kept walking up the stairs and a minute later when she came down, Saladin was purring in her arms, snuggling. He opened one eye to look at Hamilton and Ian with disgusted look, and then went back to purring.

**Natalie and Ian looked much too relaxed, sitting across from each other on overstuffed sofas. **

"They usually do," Madison said, shooting Natalie a look.

Natalie wagged her fingers with a smirk.

**The little brats**

"I am not a brat!" Natalie protested.

No one defended her there, not even Ian.

"Wow, you all hate me…"

"We don't hate you," Nellie said. "We're just not particularly excited about you being here!"

Natalie glared. "Why thank you, _Nellie," _she said through gritted teeth.

_They really __do __hate me, _she thought sadly. _Insert dramatic sigh here…_

**had changed out of their funeral suits – Ian wore a sky-blue polo shirt, beige trousers, and tassled loafers;**

"Trousers?" Hamilton said. "Loafers?"

"_Tassled _loafers," Dan said as they both snickered and high-fived.

Ian smirked. "Hamilton, I must remind you that you wore a purple jump suit the whole competition and Dan, must I go there about your commando raid?"

The two frowned at him, looked at each other, and didn't speak a word. Ian smirked.

"_That's _what I _thought." _

_He probably looked great in that, too, _Amy thought.

**Natalie wore a white linen dress that showed off her coffee skin. Their eyes glittered like amber. They were so lovely they made heads turn, which was not a good thing for a meeting.**

"Aw, she complemented us!" Natalie said.

"**You attract too mush attention," Irina scolded. "You should be uglier."**

"And she ruined it," Natalie said, frowning.

**Natalie laughed. "Is that what keeps you alive, dear cousin?"**

**Irina wanted to scratch the young whelp's face with her poison fingernails,**

Natalie gasped in horror. Dan rolled his eyes.

"Please, Natalie," he said. "You had it coming for you."

**but she kept her cool. "Insult me if you will. It guts us nowhere."**

"**True," Ian **

"_MRRP!" _Saladin hissed, glaring at Ian.

"What did I do to you!" Ian asked the cat.

"There he goes, talking to cats again," Jonah said, shaking his head in disappointment.

**said. "We have a mutual problem. Please, sit."**

**Irina considered. She would have to sit next to either Ian or Natalie**

"So you split up so if anything went wrong, one of you could catch her," Hamilton said.

"Natalie probably had a dart gun," Jonah supplied.

"And Ian probably had something worse than that," Ted said. "Probably…" He began naming off names of chemicals and poisons that even made Ian had to use his brain some.

"How do you know that?" Natalie asked.

"You're really predictable," Amy said.

Ian frowned and looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me right, Kabra," Amy said, smirking.

And then someone dropped an atomic metaphorical bomb on the house. Ian and Amy started screaming at each other about him saying he didn't want to come see her and somewhere along the way Ian brought up Evan's name and Amy about threw Saladin at him. Hamilton and Sinead began arguing about when to tell them. Ned and Ted restarted their fight from Grace's Will Reading. Madison, Reagan, and Natalie began screaming at each other, calling each other names. Dan accidentally kicked Jonah's leg, and that started them.

"See?" Alistair said to Nellie. "If I would've had my spray bottle, this would've NEVER HAPPENED!"

"Oh, don't talk to me like that!" Nellie snapped. "They would've gotten ever madder if you did squirt them!"

They began screaming at each other also.

Fiske rubbed his temples. He already had a headache already. Now he had three year olds arguing over the stupidest things.

"FISH FACE!" Natalie screamed.

"FREAK SHOW!" the Holt girls screamed.

"Ugh…" he muttered.

"AT LEAST I DIDN'T RUN OFF AND GET A GIRLFRIEND, UNLIKE YOU WHO GOT A BOYFRIEND!" Ian yelled at Amy.

"I DIDN'T GET A BOYFRIEND!" Amy yelled back.

"THEN WHO'S EVAN?!"

That's it. Fiske stood up and, even though of his small stature, slammed his fist on the table. "SHUT IT!" he yelled.

Everyone became silent, turned, and stared at him in shock.

"Wow…" Dan said. "He yelled…"

"Please," Fiske said, noticing he was turning red as he sat down. "Read."

Madison opened the book. "Where was I?"

"She would have to sit next to Ian and Natalie," Fiske grumbled, rubbing his temples.

**and neither was safe. She chose the young girl. Perhaps she would be easier to overwhelm if it came to that. Natalie smiled and made room for her on the sofa. **

"**Have you considered our proposal?" Ian asked. **

"To kill Amy and I," Dan grumbled, still annoyed with Jonah.

"She didn't, did she?" Natalie said.

**Irina had thought of nothing else since the text message came two hours ago on her cell phone, encrypted in an algorithmic code used only by the Lucians. **

**She nodded. "You have come to the same conclusion as I. The second clue is not in Boston."**

"**Exactly," Ian said. "We've told our parents to charter us a private jet. We'll be off within an hour."**

_We can't do that anymore, _Ian thought.

"WE'RE POOR!" Natalie screamed, lying her head down on the table screaming. She banged her head on the table. "AGH!"

_**Chartering a private jet, **_**Irina thought resentfully. She knew the Kabras' parents **

"EX- parents," Ian growled. "They are _not _my parents anymore."

**from the old days. They were internationally known**

"Murders," Natalie said, suddenly over her poor spell and back to her cold ways like she was when anyone ever mentioned her parents.

"Arsonists," Ian supplied.

"Theives."

"Devils."

"Art dealers."

"In jail."

"Missing."

"We get it," Sinead said.

**art collectors. Once they had been dangerous people, **

"Still are," Dan muttered.

**important people within the Lucian branch. Now they were retired in London and did nothing but dote upon their children. **

"And kill people," Ian said in sort of a daze.

_The screams… the missing people alerts… _

Amy snapped in front of his face. He blinked and sat up straight, not saying a word. He glanced at Natalie, but she was thinking the same thing.

**They let Ian and Natalie do all the traveling, writing them blank checks as needed.**

_Not anymore, _Natalie thought, all of that anger that she had against her mum and dad bubbling up again. She gripped her fists, gritted her jaw, and then punched Dan in the shoulder.

"OW!" he said, rubbing his shoulder.

Natalie screamed and then stormed into the kitchen. She grabbed her a drink and then stormed back in with a death grip on her drink. Dan scooted over in his chair, careful not to look in her eye.

**What did these brats care about the thirty-nine clues? This was just another adventure to them. Irina had her own reasons for hunting the treasure – much more personal reasons. The Kabras were too rich, **

"Exactly – were," Natalie growled.

**too smart, too proud. Someday, irina would change that. **

"What did she mean?" Jonah asked.

"Isabel and Vikram killed her husband," Ian said while stretching.

"Isabel and Vikram?" Alistair asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They aren't my parents anymore, so I refuse to call them Mum and Dad because they are not and will never be my mum and dad," Ian said calmly, although on the inside he wanted to throw a chair and pitch a Lucian sized fit.

"**So," Irina said, "where will you go?"**

**Ian sat forward and laced his hands. He didn't look fourteen years old. When he smiled, he looked evil enough to be an adult.**

_Won't see that smile today, _Amy thought.

"**You know it's about Benjamin Franklin."**

"**Yes." **

"**Then you know where we're going, and you know what we're after."**

"Our heads!" Dan hissed.

"Shut up, Dan," Natalie said. "I'm not in the mood right now for you to annoy me."

Dan began poking her repeatedly.

"Don't touch me!" Natalie snapped.

He began getting his finger close to her cheek, but not touching her. "I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you! I'm not touching you!"

"Stop flirting!" Jonah said.

Dan and Natalie both glared at him.

"I know where you'll sleep tonight," Natalie said to Jonah.

They both looked away and Dan stopped annoying her. Ted smiled.

"You're screwed!"

"**You also know," Natalie purred, "that we can't allow the secret to fall into anyone elses hands. As Lucians, we should work together. You should set the trap."**

Saladin purred when Madison said that.

"That is one weird cat…" Ian said.

Saladin opened one eye and glared, saying: _I haven't attacked you yet, and then you want to call me weird. Gee, see if that helps you get on my good side, ya Brit! _

**Irina's eye twitched, the way it did when she was nervous. She hared that it did this, but she couldn't stop it. "You could set the trap yourselves," she said.**

**Natalie shook her head. "They would suspect **_**us. **_

"Because you're predictable," Amy grumbled, still mad that he had the _nerve _to even THINK of bringing up Evan! That selfish jerk that happened to be cute!

**You, on the other hand, can send them to their doom."**

**Irina hesitated, trying to see a flaw in the plan. "What's in this for me?"**

"**They're our biggest threat," Ian pointed out. "They may not realize it yet, but they will in time. We have to eliminate them quickly.**

"No, you probably would've caused a slow, painful death for us," Dan said. "Well, for _me _at least. Ian might have a heart and spare the love of his life!"

Natalie and Dan laughed, and Ian and Amy were this close to killing them. Amy stood up, put Saladin in the chair, and walked over towards Dan. He took off running, and she wasn't far behind him. They heard a bang, a scream, a slamming door, and someother unexplainable things and then Amy was walking down the stairs as calmly as possible. She put Saladin on the couch and then sat back down at the table.

"Where's Dan?" Hamilton asked.

Amy grinned. "Don't worry, he likes dogs."

"What dogs?" Reagan and Madison asked.

"Your dog."

A loud familiar bark came from upstairs. Dan came running, his underwear shining, with Arnold (the Holts pitbull) at his heals. Arnold had a patch of jeans in his mouth, but he was happy, like he wanted to play.

"YOU!" Dan screamed and Amy as the table busted out laughing. Even Alistair and Fiske chuckled like men.

"Arnold!" Hamilton called.

Saladin raised his head. When he saw Arnold, he rolled his eyes in his cat like way and laid back down. Arnold turned, saw Hamilton and ran towards him. He jumped on the table full speed, his nails causing him to slip.

"NO!" Hamilton yelled just as Arnold barreled right into Sinead's lap. He scrambled out, getting her white jeans muddy, and ran to Hamilton.

"That dumb mutt," Sinead muttered, wiping her jeans off which only made it worse.

Sinead shot Hamilton a death look, but he just shrugged. He picked the muscular dog up with ease and set him down. He patted his side right before Arnold went to go mess with Saladin.

**It'll benefit all of us. Besides, you'll have the Lucian stronghold at your disposial. Afterwards, there will be time to fight each other. Now, we must destroy our competition."**

"**And the Madrigals?" Irina asked.**

"One has their pants eaten off and the other did it!" Jonah teased.

"Shut it!" Dan said as he sat down. "That hurt…"

**She thought she saw a ripple of nervousness cross Ian's face, but it passed quickly. "One enemy at a time, cousin."**

**Irina hated to admit it, but the boy had a point.**

"I usually do," Ian muttered to himself.

Saladin raised his head, looking away from Arnold, which thought Saladin was one of the best things since bacon, and at Ian, as if saying _I didn't allow you to speak, human. _

**She examined her fingers, casually making sure that each of her poison needles was primed and ready. **

"**Does it seem odd to you," she asked slowly, "that the Lucian databade contains so little about Franklin?" She knew very well that they would have logged into the branches mainframed, just as she had done.**

"Because Ian's predictable," Amy grumbled.

"You're going to keep this up, aren't you?" Ian asked.

"Mhm," she said, folding her arms. "Got that right."

**Annoyance flickered in Ian's eyes. **

_Good, _Amy thought. _I'm happy it did. _

**There should have been more, it's true. Apparently, Franklin was hiding something… even from his own kin."**

**Natalie smiled coldly at her brother. "A Lucian who doesn't trust his kin – imagine that."**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sinead asked.

"Doesn't matter anymore because I agree with him now," Natalie said, sharing a look with her brother.

Ian smiled. "You know I was right – just admit it."

Natalie rolled her eyes at him, but didn't disagree.

**Ian waved her comment aside. "Complaining about it will change nothing. We need to deal with Amy and Dan.**

"Hurtful!" Dan said.

"You had your jeans tore by that Holt dog," Natalie said. "It levels out."

"How? That's more on me!"

"No, you tortured us with making us see your underwear. It _does _level out."

**Cousin Irina, do we have a deal?"**

**The hotel doors opened. A heavyset man in a brown suit strode through, heading for the front desk. He seemed out of place, possibly a security guard or an undercover policeman. It might have nothing to do with them, but Irina couldn't be sure. The had sat here too long.**

"Because they should be uglier!" Jonah said.

**Meeting any longer would be dangerous. **

"**Very well," Irina said. "I shall prepare the trap."**

**Natalie and Ian rose.**

**Irina felt relieVed and prehaps flattered, too.**

"Shouldn't be," Natalie said.

**The Kabras needed her help. She was, after all, much older and wiser. "I am glad we came to an agreement," she said, feeling generous. "I did not wish to hurt you."**

"**Oh, we're glad, too," Ian promised. "Natalie, I believe it's safe now."**

**Irina frowned, not understanding. Then she looked at Natalie – that pretty little girl who seemed so harmless in her little white dress – and realized the young she-devil**

"FINALLY!" Dan said. "SOMEONE WHO AGREES WITH ME!"

Natalie brought her heeled shoe back on Dan's shin. He yelped.

"I'm going to be black and blue when I leave here," he groaned.

**had a tiny silver dart gun cupped in her hand, not two inches from Irina's chest. Irina's heart skipped a beat. She had used such guns herself. The darts could carry poisons far worse than she dared keep in her fingernails. **

**Natalie smiled prettily, keeping the dart gun aimed and ready. "It was so good to see you, Irina."**

"**Indeed," Ian said smugly. "I'd shake your hand, cousin, but I'd hate to ruin your special manicure.**

"How did she get those in there?" Reagan asked to no one specific, staring at her nails that, unlike her sisters, was in pretty good shape.

"Very carefully," Natalie said. "It would be nice to have some, though."

**Do let us know when Amy and Dan are eliminated, won't you?"**

Madison put the book mark in and closed it. "Who's next?"

No one answered. Madison slid it to Jonah. "You're up, Cripple!"

Jonah sighed. "Seriously?"

The front door clicked open and one of the guards walked in. The table turned to look at him.

"Uh… Wonah Jizard?" he asked, looking at the cursive writing on a pink box. "Wait, Jonah Wizard. Package."

He handed it to him.

"Who's it from?" Jonah asked, looking for any names on it.

"They said from one of the branch leaders." He chuckled. "Make sure their isn't a bomb in there."

Once the guard left, Hamilton put his hand on the box and moved it on the other side of him.

"You can open it after Sinead says what she was going to explain," he said.

"We're being watched," Sinead said. She pointed towards the corner of the room where this black dot was in the tip of the corner. Ian looked at it. Sure enough, it was a camera.

"Who's watching us?" he asked.

Amy's eyes got big. "Fiske, why are you here?"

"That's what I would like to know," he said.

"The note said the branch leaders. You're the branch leader!"

"So who's here for the Madrigals?"

"The Lucians are Isabel and Vikram," Ian mumbled.

"Tomas are probably our parents. Ivan wouldn't have sent Arnold," Reagan said.

"Ekaterina's Bae," Alistair said coldly.

"Janus is Cora," Jonah said.

Amy and Dan looked at each other.

"Mr. McIntyre?" Dan suggested hopefully.

Amy shook her head. "He would've kept Fiske with him. Who else is there?"

Hamilton had slid Jonah back his present. Jonah opened it, screamed, and then launched himself away from the box.

About fifty Black Widow spiders crawled out of the boxes onto the table and they heard Jonah, Dan, Ian, and Hamilton scream like girls.

***HEY sorry for the grammar mistakes. My SpellCheck decided to pick this chapter to do that. :D Sorry for the wait, and, TheUltimateArtist, here is your morning cup of coffee :) \_/**


	8. Pup-Pup's Explosion

**Chapter 8**

The spiders were crawling everywhere.

Jonah had sprinted upstairs without his crutches. Amy hadn't even been paying attention or had known about the spiders until Ian grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch quickly. One had crawled up on his trousers, causing him to yelp and try to knock it off like a girl. Hamilton had fallen out of his chair and jumped up, walking away backwards. The twins had screamed simultaneously and then began trying to beat them with the books. Fiske and Alistair moved calmly, while Nellie screamed and ran, knocking over her own chair. Natalie was frozen in shock. Dan grabbed her wrist and yanked her away.

"What?" she said confused that _Dan _had pulled her away.

"You can't get bit by those; I must have someone to annoy," he said, smirking.

"What's going on?" Ted asked.

Sinead pulled her brother away, while Ned walked away by himself. Arnold tried to chase the spiders, but Hamilton picked the dog up. Saladin thought it was all stupid. He looked at Ian, who was holding Amy's hand, and _Mrrp–_ed. But it wasn't an annoyed _Mrrp, _it was more like _it-took-you-long-enough. _

The guards came in and saw all the spiders. "Spiders..."

"NAW?!" Dan said sarcastically.

One of the guards looked at them. "You guys go upstairs, we'll call an exterminator."

The Cahills didn't protest. Spiders covered the book, and then there was a note in the Spider Box. One of the guards reached in bare handed and grabbed it. He shook the spiders off of both of the things. He handed them to Hamilton and then the Cahills disappeared upstairs.

Jonah looked at the note that Hamilton had handed him and shivered. Uh-oh.

"What is it?" Amy asked.

Jonah read it out loud.

_Jonah Wizard – I thought you were smarter than that! Calling me a crazy woman with a gun! I, in fact, am not crazy. People who don't listen to me make me crazy. So, in my best wishes, I hope those spiders bit you. _

_Love, Auntie Isabel _

"Auntie Isabel?" Natalie asked.

"Long story," Jonah said.

"Where are we going to go?" Natalie asked noticing Amy and Ian were still holding hands. She nudged Dan with her elbow and pointed at it. He grinned.

"POOL!" Jonah exclaimed as he looked out of the window.

"But it's like six thirty," Sinead said, trying her best to get the others to veto the idea. She was _not _going outside in a bathing suit with her scars.

"So?" Reagan said. "That's the best time because it's not too hot!"

"So we're going swimming?" Amy asked.

"YES!" Dan said, jumping up and down.

Everyone went to their room to change.

"Gee, thanks," Sinead muttered as she closed her door.

She found a white lacy cover up with a black string bikini. Sadly, it was that, or the pink one. Sinead wasn't a pink person. She laid the cover up on the bed and grabbed her brush out of the bathroom. She pulled her hair up and then looked in the mirror. If you just looked at her face and didn't notice the tiny scar on her cheek, you wouldn't have thought she'd been in an explosion a month ago. When you looked at her shoulders and arms, you think the explosion couldn't have done that – try an atomic bomb.

She frowned at herself – all because of that stupid no good Dolt.

Someone knocked on the door. She quickly grabbed her cover up and put it on.

"Who is it?" she called.

"It's me," Amy answered. "Can I ask you a question?"

Sinead opened the door and let Amy in. She was in a green two piece with a pair of black shorts. Her reddish-brown hair had been pulled up in a pony-tail and her side bang on her left side hung out. Ever since Amy cut her hair layered to prove to Dan that she wasn't scared, she looked cuter. No wonder Ian and Evan had a crush on her! On her right arm was a blue beach towel.

"Does this look ok?" she asked.

"It looks great," Sinead said, grinning. "Who are you trying to impress, is the question."

"No one," she said. "Are you swimming?"

"No," Sinead answered. "Of course not."

Natalie walked up in a white bikini with real gold circles on each hip and one in the front of her top. She looked flawless with her sunglasses on her head and her black silky hair down. She was not wearing a cover up or shorts, which wasn't a surprise. She was holding a black with purple smoke type beach towel in one arm and tanning lotion in the other.

"Are you trying to get anyone's attention?" Amy asked.

"No," Natalie answered. "I wanted to see if I could walk down with you two. I'm not walking down alone."

"Sure," Sinead said. She grabbed her zebra striped beach towel, took one last glance in the mirror, and then they walked out. They headed towards the back door as the exterminators sprayed. Nellie was down stairs by the back door in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt over her bathing suit slapping her iPod on the palm of her hand.

Reagan was working on her ballet, twirling around and around. Madison was trying to, but she ended up tripping and falling flat on her face.

"Where's the guy's?" Natalie asked.

"They're slow pokes," Madison said. "Alistair and Fiske are staying upstairs in the study to talk business, so it's just us. Jonah already said he'd read since he can't get in the water. Don't tell me you're all tanning."

"I might get in later," Amy said.

"You're just showing off for Ian!" Reagan giggled.

Amy glared. "Shut it."

"So you are!" Natalie exclaimed.

Amy's face turned bright red. Sinead grinned.

"Well, even though you think my brother is hot," Natalie said, "I need to work on my tan. Are you all coming?"

They all followed Natalie out. It was an Olympic size pool that was at least fifteen feet deep. Leaned back pool chairs were on the left and right side, with a diving board and a white picket fence surrounding it. What lead to the gate was a rock path, curving off towards the pool or it kept going into the woods and around a fountain. Natalie, Nellie, Amy, and Sinead laid their towels down on the chairs. Everyone slipped their cover ups off except Sinead. She just simply kept hers on. Natalie sat down, rubbed her tanning lotion on, put her sunglasses on, and then laid back. Amy laid those shorts next to her and then lay back, and Nellie did the same with her shirt and shorts. Sinead sat down, and then covered her face for the impact.

The impact with water, that is.

Madison and Reagan had run in, threw their towels as un-neatly as possible, and then they both dove in like professional divers simultaneously, splashing Sinead with that cold pool water. The two surfaced, both giggling and laughing.

"Omigosh you should get in!" Reagan said. "It's so warm!"

Sinead's blood ran cold, even on this extremely hot October day. Then, she realized, it was October. How the heck was the pool even near hot? Then she noticed the orange and brown and red leaves covering the greenish brown grass, all brown trees, and the giant humongous trampoline.

"I'll get in later," Amy said with her eyes closed under her own sunglasses. Was Sinead the only one who _didn't _have sunglasses?

"Whatever," Madison said just as the guys began barreling out like a wave of shirtless guys. Natalie and Amy rose up and lifted up their sunglasses as the guys came in, hair all messed up, abs (mostly Hamilton who Sinead couldn't help but gawk inwardly at them) showing, and in bathing suit trunks. Then, there was Jonah, who was in the same thing he ran upstairs in, except now he had his crutches. He can't even swim, yet he's the one who suggested it!

_That jack-wagon, _Sinead thought.

Ned and Ted, her brothers, sat on the side of the pool in a pair of rolled up jeans and put their feet in, just letting them dangle as they talked about the difference between protons and neutrons.

Ian was in a pair of black trunks, but he didn't seem as thrilled as Hamilton or Dan about the water – especially when they shoved him in. Ian jumped out of the water, grabbed them, and pulled them in, causing Dan to flip and belly flop. Dan came up, spewing water out of his mouth.

"Seriously, Cobra?!" Dan said. Dan turned at Amy. "I don't approve at your relationship with him."

Then, Ian ambushed him from behind, and Dan spewed words Amy had never heard him use. Ian didn't hurt him – he just simply held him under for a second.

"Ian, let him up!" Amy said, a little nervous.

For some reason, he couldn't say no to Amy. He pulled Dan up just as Hamilton pulled Ian under. Dan, thinking he was something special, spun around in a circle, looking for Ian, even though he looked like a complete idiot.

"Can we read?" Jonah asked; a little glum that he couldn't swim. He wanted to have a chicken fight.

"Sure," Natalie said, ignoring the others. "Hamilton, let Ian up. Now."

Hamilton let go and Ian came up, completely annoyed.

Jonah opened the book and Sinead folded her arms over her chest as Hamilton kept being… annoyingly him.

"Shall I go?" Jonah asked.

Natalie waved her hand. "Yes, Wizard, _bore _me some more."

Jonah rolled his eyes and set the bookmark (Dan's Skittles package) on the chair with him, lay back, and then began:

**Amy knew something was wrong as soon as Nellie came out of the rental car place. **

Nellie's lips curved into a smile. It was about time she had been noticed.

**She was frowning and holding a thick brown padded envelope. **

"So you were getting extra help," Madison said, arms folded on the side with Reagan at her side, smirking. "That explains a lot."

"We didn't," Dan said. "It was Mr. McIntyre."

"He wasn't supposed to help anyone," Reagan said.

"So?"

"So, it wasn't fair."

"Well, you'll live."

"**What is that?" Amy asked.**

"An envelope," Nellie murmured sarcastically.

"**It's for you guys." Nellie held out the package. "Somebody dropped it off at the counter this morning." **

"**That's impossible!" Amy said. "Nobody knew we'd be here."**

"Wouldn't your Aunt Beatrice known?" Nellie asked sarcastically.

Hamilton covered his ears and went under. Even though a month at… _there, _that one specific Cahill – even after being screamed at by his "teacher" – still creeped him out.

**But as she said it, a chill went down her back. They'd book the train tickets and the rental car online last night from their hotel, using Nellie's name. **

"Hackers," Dan said, floating on his back.

**Was it possible somebody had tracked them down so fast?**

"Yes," Sinead mumbled. "We did."

"**What does the envelope say?" Dan asked. **

"'**For A. & D. Cahill,'" Nellie read. "'From W. McIntyre.'"**

"Was that even allowed?" Natalie asked.

"Nope," Jonah said.

"Hm, Amy broke a rule," she sighed. "_That's _a first."

"Excuse me?" Amy asked.

Natalie yawned mockingly. "Yes, Amy, you heard me."

"**Mr. McIntyre!" Dan grabbed the package. **

"**Wait!" Amy yelled. "It could be a trap. **

"Paranoid," Reagan sang.

**Dan rolled his eyes. "C'mon. It's from –"**

"**It could be from anybody," Amy insisted. "It could blow up or something."**

Sinead silently winced. _Blow up. _Those two words still haunted her.

"Really paranoid," Madison sang.

Amy rolled her eyes. She wasn't paranoid – she was careful.

"**Okay, whoa," Nellie said. "Why would somebody send a couple of kids a bomb? And who is this McIntyre dude?"**

**Dan grinned. "I say we let Nellie open it."**

"Gee, seems like Dan wanted Nellie to blow up," Ted said.

"Did not!" Dan protested. He had floated, but when Ted had said that, he tried to stand in the eight foot end – and failed epically.

"**Um, no!" Nellie said.**

"So Nellie wanted Dan or Amy blow up," Natalie smirked.

Nellie bolted straight up. "I did not!" Her sunglasses fell off of her head and hit the concrete, causing them to crack. "AW! Now look what you did! Those were expensive!"

"Oh, well," Natalie said unsympathetically.

"**You're the au pair!" Aren't you supposed to defuse explosives for us and stuff?"**

"Super nanny!" Hamilton sang.

**I'm driving you, kiddo. That's enough!"**

**Amy sighed and snatched the package.**

"Oh, so now you want Amy to blow up?" Ian said smugly at Dan and Nellie.

They both frowned and looked away, not having a response to that.

Ian: 1

Dan and Nellie: 0

**She stepped into the parking lot, turned the flap of the envelope away from Nellie and Dan, and carefully peeled it open.**

**Nothing happened. Inside was a metal cylinder like a flashlight, except the light was a strip of purple glass running down one side. A note was attached in sloppy handwriting, like the writer had been in a hurry. **

"A black light," Ian muttered. "Classic." Luckily, nobody heard him.

_**Meet me at Independence Hall this evening at eight, but only if you find the information.**_

_So Mr. McIntyre's the reason they went there, _Sinead thought.

_**-W.M.**_

_**(P.S. Thank you for calling the ambulance)**_

"**Find what information?" Dan asked, reading over her shoulder.**

"The essay about farts!" Dan grinned like a doofus.

"What?" Hamilton asked.

"Franklin wrote an essay about farts!"

Hamilton felt confused. Dan made no sense at times…

"**The next clue, I guess."**

"**What clue?" Nellie demanded. **

"You guys didn't tell her?" Jonah asked.

They shook their heads. Nellie snarled her nose. "They never tell me anything," Nellie grumbled.

"**Nothing," Dan and Amy said. **

**Nellie blew a tuft of black and blond**

"Wet straw," she growled, sticking her tongue out at Dan.

**hair out of her eyes. "Whatever. Stay right here. I'll bring the car around."**

**She left them standing there with the bags and Saladin in his new cat carrier.**

Speaking of Saladin, that's when he and Arnold came out of the backdoor towards them. Arnold, because Saladin was a lazy cat, had somehow managed to open the door and walk out with Saladin on his back.

Saladin was lying on Arnold's back, looking like he was saying: _Yes, carry me, Pup-Pup. _He looked around like he thought they were all of his employees and Arnold was his personal dog-slave. Arnold trotted to one of the chairs and stopped. Saladin stood on Arnold's back, stretched, and then stepped off and laid on the chair. Arnold, then, jumped on the diving board and jumped in the pool, making a huge splash.

"What the – my dog is that cat's slave!" Hamilton said.

Arnold got sensitive. He looked at Hamilton big eyed and whimpered, swimming away from him and towards the wall.

"Aw, Buddy!" Hamilton said. "I'm sorry!"

Arnold whimpered again, and then tried to get out of the pool, but failed. Dan put his arm under his hind legs and Arnold clambered out of the pool, looking at Hamilton like he was a monster. He shook in front of Natalie, and she began yelling words that Ian had never heard her say. Arnold jumped and ran out, his tail between his legs.

Madison and Reagan got out and followed Arnold in the trees.

"Poor puppy," Sinead said.

**Saladin hadn't been too pleased with the cat carrier – anymore than Nellie had been with the fresh snapper they'd bought to keep him happy – but Amy hadn't had the heart to leave him behind. **

Dan cleared his throated. "And me!"

"_**Mrrp?" **_**Saladin asked.**

Saladin looked at Jonah like _I don't sound like that._

**Amy reached down and scratched his head through the bars.**

The cat jumped over next to Amy, where she scratched his head. He purred.

"**Dan, maybe we shouldn't make that rendezvous. Mr. McIntyre told us not to trust anyone."**

"**But the note is from **_**him!" **_

"Who was right?" Dan asked.

Amy pulled her ponytail off of her wrist and flicked it at his face.

"Ow!" he yelped as the ponytail sunk underwater. He swam down and got it and flicked it at her, but she just caught it and ignored him.

"**It could be a trick."**

"**That makes it even better! We've got to go!"**

"Of course!" Hamilton said. "Let's just go try to get ourselves killed!"

**Amy twisted her hair. She hated it when Dan didn't take her seriously. And this could be **_**dangerous. **_**"If we go, it says we have to find the information first." **

"**But you know where to look, right? You're smart and stuff."**

"So, you're implying you, Daniel, are not," Natalie said, smirking.

Dan frowned. "Stop. Calling. Me. Daniel!" He folded his arms. "And I am smart!"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "On Mars, possibly."

"Oh, don't be such a beach!"

Natalie shot straight up. "_Excusez-moi?!" _Natalie yelled, switching to French like she does when she gets angry. "What did you just call me?"

"I was kidding," Dan said.

Mistake Number 1 on Dan: He was holding on the wall with his fingers.

She stood up and stomped on his fingers.

Mistake Number 2 on Natalie: She was too close to the pool.

Dan recoiled his hand and grabbed her hand, pulling her in. She screamed when she came up and Hamilton and Ian had to separate them before they killed each other. Ian acted like he would've rather been holding Dan back and not Natalie.

Natalie screamed and then swam towards the ladder. "Don't worry, Daniel! You will pay!"

"Can I read now?" Jonah asked.

"Please," Amy said.

_**Smart and stuff. **_**Like that's all they needed to track down a clue in a huge city. Before they'd left Boston, she'd splurged and bought some books about Franklin and Philadelphia from her friends at the used bookshop.**

"Yes, because all of her friends are adults," Dan mumbled.

Amy folded her arms and scratched Saladin's head. She wanted to say at least she had friends, but poor kid just about got beat up by a girl. That's sad – even for him.

**She'd spent the whole train trip reading, but still… **

"**I've got a few ideas," she admitted. "But I don't know where we're going in the long-term. I mean – have you thought about what this ultimate treasure could be?"**

"Dan doesn't think," Natalie said.

"I do too!" Dan exclaimed.

"Sure," Natalie said, wringing out her hair. "I cannot believe my hair touched Dan and pool water in a matter of 24 to 48 hours…"

"**Something cool." **

"**Oh, that's real helpful. I mean, what could make somebody the most powerful Cahill in history? And why thirty-nine clues?"**

Normally, Amy would've made a face or rolled her eyes, but she seemed to tune them out.

Madison and Reagan walked back in with Arnold. He laid down beside Sinead and stared at Hamilton.

"Say sorry!" Reagan said, folding her arms. "You hurt his feelings."

Hamilton walked to the shallow end where Sinead noticed something dark on his ribs. Was that… a tattoo? It looked in Chinese. Sadly, Sinead hadn't learned to read Chinese – _yet_. The others didn't seem to notice it, but Amy was asleep, and Natalie was freaking about her hair.

"Whoa, where'd you get that?" she asked.

Hamilton looked at her and his eyes got wide, almost warning her not to mention anything else. The twins didn't notice, and no one else did, but Sinead did. What in the world did that mean?

"Arnold," Hamilton called. "Come here, Buddy."

Arnold walked over to him, nervous. Hamilton scratched his ears and told him he was sorry. And then, Arnold jumped in, barking and happy.

**Dan shrugged. "Thirty-nine is a sweet number. It's thirteen times three. It's also the sum of five prime numbers in a row – 3, 5, 7, 11, 13. **_**And **_**if you add the first three powers of three, 3****1 ****plus 3****2**** plus 3****3****, you get thirty-nine."**

Ian raised an eyebrow as if he lost him. He glanced around. "What?"

Dan shrugged. "It's simple, Cobra. I thought Lucians were good at math."

Ian just looked at him like he was crazy. Lucians are good at math and all, but only if they have cash at hand or cash in sight, which really they prefer it in hand.

Even Hamilton, the one who got the scholarship to Notre Dame, was _very _confused.

**Amy stared at him. "How did you know that?"**

"**What do you mean? It's obvious."**

"It's simple," Ned said. "Even a Tomas could figure that out!"

Hamilton, Madison, and Reagan glared. "Excuse me?"

Ned smiled. "Oops…"

**Amy shook her head in dismay. Dan acted like a doofus most of the time. Then he'd pull something like that – adding prime numbers or powers of three that she never thought about.**

"Because you're not as awesome as me!" Dan sang as he hung from the diving board upside down. He slipped, letting out a scream, and then hit the water.

"She's asleep," Jonah mumbled. Then he grinned. "Ian, go throw her in."

Ian looked at Jonah like he was an idiot. "Seriously?"

"You're the one who's in _LOVE _with her! Go!"

"But I'm soaked!"

"GO!" Hamilton growled. "Or _I'll _scoop her up in _my _arms and throw her in."

Ian swam to the other side of the pool and silently got out. He wiped off his arms with Natalie's towel and then picked Amy up. She was beautiful as she slept, but Ian was silent. He shot all the others death looks and then he dropped her in. And then eleven year old hands hit his back and he fell in a few feet away from Amy, arms flailing and looking quite awkward.

Natalie was standing there, smirking and clapping excitedly as Amy shot to the surface, not to happy. Ian, that lucky Brit, hadn't come up yet, and the next person in Amy's path was no other than Dan.

"No!" he said. "It wasn't me!"

"Yes, it was!" Natalie said, smirking at him. "He and that Holt!"

Hamilton looked shocked. "For one, I can pick her up by myself! For two-"

"READING!" Jonah sang.

**Their dad had been a mathematics professor, and Dan apparently had inherited all of his number sense. Amy had enough trouble remembering phone numbers. **

Amy grabbed Dan by his hair and pulled him out as Ian surfaced, slowly and quietly. She walked him to the diving board with him repeatedly saying "OW!" and stopped him at the edge. She looked at Natalie.

"Would you like to do it, or I?"

Natalie grinned and an evil spark went in her eyes. "Of course!"

Natalie ran over there and shoved Dan in from the board as hard as she could without even breaking a nail with the joy of hearing him scream again.

Today was the best day yet.

**She held up the weird metal cylinder Mr. McIntyre had sent them. She switched it on and the light glowed purple. **

"**What **_**is **_**that thing?" Dan asked. **

"**I don't know," Amy said. "But I have a feeling we'd better figure it out before eight o'clock." **

"What happens at eight o'clock?" Madison asked.

"If you'd let me read, I'd let you know!" Jonah said. Now he knew how the others felt when he wouldn't shut up.

**Amy hated cars almost as much as she hated crowds. **

"A lot of hate is going on there," Reagan said.

"Haters gonna hate!" Dan said.

**She promised herself that when she got older she'd live somewhere where she never had to drive. **

_Can't find that anymore, _Amy thought. She was almost dry now, but she had her suspicions about who threw her in.

**Part of that was because she'd been in a car with Nellie before.**

"I'm not a bad driver!" Nellie protested, yanking out her headphones where Lady Gaga blared. How she heard over that – no one knows. All they know is that it's Nellie.

Dan started to say something smart back, but he didn't want to make Nellie angry. She'd helped him prank Amy, and she was great at pranking, meaning Dan _didn't _want to wake up to lizards sleeping next to him, with their beady little eyes, and speedy tiny feet…

**Nellie had rented a Toyota hybrid. **

"So, you're going environmental," Hamilton said. "Gotcha…"

**She said it was more environmental, which was fine with Amy, but it cost two hundred and fifty-eight dollars a day, and the way Nellie raced around corners and gunned the gas wasn't exactly "green".**

**They were on interstate 95, heading into downtown, when Amy happened to look behind them. She wasn't sure why – a prickling sensation on her neck like she was being watched. In fact, she was.**

Sinead's heart quickened and she gripped the chair, forcing her not to get emotional. She knew it was coming up soon, but she hoped it wasn't here. Sadly, it was, and Sinead wasn't sure if she could handle it.

Ned glanced at her, and smiled at her, trying to reassure her everything would be fine, that it was just a book. She smiled a shaky smile back, but she refused to lean back in her chair.

_Maybe if I read a book…_

She picked up the book she had brought with her, but her mind was racing so fast and her hands were so sweaty that she couldn't read. She set it down and listened for her cue to run upstairs, hide in the closet, and scream.

"**We're being followed," she announced. **

"**What?" Dan said.**

"**Five cars back," Amy said. "Gray Mercedes. It's the Starlings."**

_Stay at least five cars back, _Ted had said. _They'll never suspect it. _

"**A Starbucks?" Nellie said excitedly. "Where?"**

Ted face-palmed. He had heard that joke _way _too many times. First time, it was a little funny – now, it's just plain annoying.

"_**Starlings," **_**Amy corrected. "Our relatives. Ned, Ted, and Sinead."**

**Nellie snorted. "That's not really their names."**

Ned looked around, confused for one of the few times in his life. He leaned over to Ted and whispered, "What's wrong with our names?"

Ted shrugged. "I was hoping you knew."

"**I'm not joking," Amy said. "'It's, um, part of the scavenger hunt. Nellie, we can't let them follow us. We have to lose them."**

**Nellie didn't need to be told twice. She yanked the wheel to the right and the Toyota careened across three lanes of traffic. Saladin yowled.**

Saladin looked at Arnold. Why is Pup-Pup swimming in that disgusting water that all of those _humans _are bathing in?! And how was he going to carry him back in if he's wet?!

Saladin raised his head and _Mrrp-_ed, and Amy stroked his head. Saladin purred and decided Pup-Pup could have a few more minutes in that horrible wet stuff if Amy continued to scratch his ears.

**Just as they were about to slam into the safety-impact barrels, Nellie slipped onto an exit ramp. **

**The last view Amy got of the Starlings was Sinead's freckled face pressed against the window of the Mercedes, her jaw hanging open as she watched Amy and Dan get away.**

"Only because they made me sit in the back seat," she grumbled. "And I'm the oldest."

"**Is that lost enough?" Nellie asked.**

"_**Mrrp!" **_**Saladin protested. **

Saladin was officially un-amused with any of the Cahills cat impressions. He looked at Jonah with a disappointed look. Jonah glanced up, and then did a double take at the disappointed cat. He slowly looked back at the book as the cat and he made eye contact. No wonder Ian felt scared of him.

"**You could've killed us!" Dan had a big grin on his face. "Do that again!"**

"Oh, yes!" Ian said sarcastically. "Let's try to get killed again!"

"Wouldn't be the first time!" Dan said, grinning ear to ear. "_You've _tried to kill us plenty of times. But we're INVINCABLE!"

"Wow…" Amy said as Madison fished her sunglasses out of the pool.

"**No!" Amy said. "Locust Street. And hurry!"**

**Their first stop was the Library Company of Philadelphia, a big redbrick building in the middle of downtown. **

"Wait… I thought you guys were still in Boston," Hamilton said. "I'm confused."

"Well, they did have to rent a car," Sinead said quietly. "Nellie must have had her own car in Boston, so they flew."

Hamilton with his tattooed-self had a dumb realization moment, nodding slowly while staring at the water, putting two and two together.

**Amy and Dan asked Nellie to wait in the car with Saladin. Then they walked up the front steps. **

Sinead's heart began skipping beats as she chewed his lip, staring off into space. It was coming up soon – after Amy and Dan was on 20th street, she had to go ASAP.

"**Oh, boy, another library," Dan said. "We have such great luck with libraries."**

"**Franklin founded this place," Amy told him. "It's got a lot of books from his personal collection. If we can convince the librarians –"**

"IF?" Nellie yelled loudly over the Three Days Grace blaring in her ears. "AMY PUTS THEM UNDER A SPELL WHEN SHE GOES TO THE LIBRARY!"

Jonah face-palmed. Here he was, an international pop sensation, stuck here with his lunatic family, a servant dog, a snooty cat, and… well, Nellie.

She switched to Spice Girls. "YO! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT! WHAT I REALLY REALLY WANT!"

"EEK!" Natalie squealed. "I LOVE THAT SONG!"

"Not again," Ian grumbled, sinking down as Natalie and Nellie began singing. Jonah shuddered – they were out of key. Once they finished, Ian came up about purple, and Jonah began reading:

"**What's the big deal with Benjamin Franklin, anyway? I mean, so the guy invented electricity or whatever. That was hundreds of years ago."**

"He didn't invent electricity," Ian said.

"**He didn't **_**invent **_**electricity," Amy said, trying not to sound to annoyed. **

"AW!" Natalie said. "You guys even talk alike!"

Ian's cheeks turned bright red, but he still had blackmail on her, so the redness subsided. "Actually, Natalie, shall I tell who you had (or _have) _a crush on?"

Natalie gasped. "Do it and I kill you!"

Ian chuckled. She was right where he wanted her…

"**He discovered that lightning was the same stuff as electricity. He invented lightning rods to protect buildings and experimented with batteries and –"**

"_**I **_**do that.**

"You didn't make lightning rods!" Ted said.

Sinead rolled her eyes. He might be a super smart genius in the science lab, but when it came to sarcasm, he failed – miserably.

**Have you ever put one on your tongue?"**

Hamilton and his sisters chuckled. "Yes."

Jonah nodded.

Even IAN nodded, along with the Starlings. Nellie was singing Metallica now, and Amy raised a finger. That book doesn't know everything about her…

Natalie looked around. "Am I the only one…?"

Dan grinned evilly. "Anybody know where any batteries are?"

"**You're an idiot.**

"I AM NOT!" Dan yelled at the book cover.

**The thing is Franklin was famous for **_**a lot **_**of reasons. He started out getting rich with his printing business. Then he became a scientist and invented a bunch of stuff. Later he helped write the Declaration of Independence and the constitution. He was even an ambassador to England and France. He was brilliant. World famous. Everybody liked him, and he lived until he was, like, in his eighties."**

"Well Alistair's in his nineties!" Hamilton said. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the study window was open.

Alistair stuck his head out. "I'll have you know, Hamilton, that I am not in my nineties and if I have to stay any longer with you all, I'm not going to make it to my seventies!"

"Sorry!" Hamilton called as Alistair closed the window, locking it.

"**Superman," Dan said.**

"**Pretty much."**

Sinead rolled her eyes. Benjamin Franklin? Superman? Please. He's part of the reason she got blown up!

"**So do you think he knew what it was – this treasure we're looking for?"**

_No, _Amy thought. _Not hardly. _

**Amy hadn't thought of that. Franklin had been one of the most influential people in history. If he was a Cahill, and he knew about this secret family treasure…**

"**I think," she said, "we'd better find out."**

**She pushed open the doors and led Dan inside. **

"MORE LIBRARIES!" he complained. "MY BRAIN CAN'T TAKE IT!"

"How many more pages is this…?" Jonah wondered aloud, flipping through. "Holy Ekats, we're on page 89."

"Wow," Amy said. "We've read a lot."

He sighed. "Nine more pages to go…"

**Fortunately, the librarians were having a slow day, and Amy wasn't shy around them at all.**

"Why is this whole chapter about Amy?" Dan complained. "Amy this. Amy that. Amy, Amy, Amy."

"You mad, bro?" Jonah asked.

**She loved librarians.**

"Only because she's gonna be one when she gets older!" Dan smirked.

"Actually, they've already asked me to put up returned books three times a week at the library in Attleboro," Amy said.

"AHA!" Dan said. "It has already begun!"

**When she told them she was doing a summer research project on Benjamin Franklin and need to use historical documents, they fell all over themselves to help her.**

"TOLD YOU!" Nellie screamed over AC/DC. "IT'S A SPELL!"

**They made Amy and Dan wear latex gloves**

"LATEX gloves," Hamilton pointed out.

**and sit in a climate-controlled room while they brought out old books to look at. **

**The librarian set the first one down and Amy gasped. "This is Franklin's first cartoon!"**

"How exciting!" Dan said sarcastically.

Jonah grinned, not catching the sarcasm. For some reason, he had the feeling that Jonah liked history.

**Dan squinted at it. The picture showed a snake, cut into eight pieces, each one labeled with the name of an American region.**

"Not very funny for a cartoon," Madison grumbled.

"**Not very funny for a cartoon," Dan said.**

Dan's and Madison's eyes got wide. They had copied each other – again.

"Awkward!" Reagan sang.

"**It's not supposed to be funny," Amy said. "Back then, cartoons made a point. Like, he's saying if the colonies don't get back together, Britain will cut them apart."**

"You got all that," Hamilton said, "from a snake?"

Amy nodded and Hamilton looked lost.

"**Uh-huh." Dan turned his attention to his computer. They'd been here in the library less than five minutes, and here he was, already looking bored, clacking away on his laptop rather than helping her.**

"Does that really surprise you?" Dan asked.

Arnold (AKA Pup-Pup) got out of the pool, dripping wet, and then trotted over to Jonah. He stopped and Jonah closed the book as soon as he shook, covering Jonah and the cover of the book in water that smelled like wet dog. He looked disgusted as Arnold trotted off towards the diving board, where he leaped in again.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked, spraying the water off of his lips. He picked the book up, pages intact, and began reading.

**Amy pored over the other artifacts: a newspaper that had been printed on Franklin's own printing press, a copy of **_**Pilgrim's Progress **_**that Franklin had owned. So much amazing stuff… but what was she looking for? Amy felt pressured, and she didn't do well under pressure.**

"Well, that's an understatement," Dan grumbled.

Amy threw a water ball toy thing that she had found under her chair at his head and succeeded.

"Is it beat up Dan day?!" he asked.

"**Find what you need?" the librarian asked. She had frizzy hair and bifocals and looked sort of like a friendly witch. **

"Like Glenda the Good Witch of the North!" Jonah said.

"The… _The Wizard of Oz?" _Hamilton said.

"No, Harry Potter!" Jonah said sarcastically, shaking his head.

"**Um, maybe some more, please. Anything that was… important to Franklin."**

**The librarian thought for a moment. "Franklin's letters were important to him. He wrote many, many letters to his friends and family because he lived in Europe so long. I'll bring you some." She adjusted her glasses and left the room.**

"Oh, didn't Franklin invent them?" Madison asked.

"**Franklin invented those, too," Amy said absently. **

"Well, you could've just told me that without reading…"

**Dan frowned. "Librarians?"**

"Yes, he invented humans," Natalie said.

"**No, bifocals! He cut up two sets of lenses and pasted them half-and-half, so he could see long distance and short distance with the same pair."**

"AW!" Nellie whined. "My iPod went dead…"

"Hallelujah!" Hamilton said.

"_Anyway, _was Franklin blind or something?"

"I don't know!" Amy shrugged. "Why do you ask me all the time?"

"Is she seriously asking that?" Jonah said.

"You're smart and stuff!" Dan said!

_Smart and stuff. _Something's never change…

"**Oh." Dan didn't look impressed. He went back to playing with his laptop. He had the mystery flashlight from Mr. McIntyre in front of him, and he kept switching it on and off. **

_Black light, _Ian thought. _Am I the only one who knows this?!_

**The librarian brought them a stack of new stuff, including old letters preserved in plastic sheets. Amy read through them but felt more hopeless than ever.**

"Well, isn't that an understatement of the Clue Hunt?" Dan said sarcastically.

Amy felt like wanting to crawl into a hole. Dan was really getting annoying.

**Nothing jumped out at her. **

"Like a ghost!" Reagan said. "Or a zombie!"

**Nothing screamed "clue."**

**Suddenly, Dan sat up straight. "I found it!"**

_Took them long enough, _the Lucian said, his back in a corner as Hamilton attempted to go five times from one side of the pool to the other without coming up for air.

"**You found what?" She'd assumed Dan was playing games,**

"I would _never _do something like that!" he said sarcastically.

**but when he turned the laptop to face her, there was a picture of a flashlight just like the one Mr. McIntyre had sent them. **

"**It's a black light reader," Dan announced. **

"Genius," Natalie said. "Bravo. I applaud you."

Dan smiled, not catching the sarcasm. Then, the smile faded. "Wait a minute…"

"**Oh!" the librarian said. "Very ingenious.**

"Did she just call us stupid?" Dan asked.

Amy rolled her eyes. "No, doofus; ingenious means clever."

"Still think she called us stupid…" Dan grumbled.

**We have one of those for our collection."**

**Amy looked up. "Why? What do they do?"**

_They reveal secret writing! _Ian wanted to scream, but he held his tongue. It wasn't his fault that he was extremely smarter than everyone here except (maybe) Amy.

"**They reveal secret writing," the librarian said.**

_Told you, _Ian thought.

"**During the Revolutionary War, spies would use invisible ink to send messages on documents that seemed harmless, like love letters or orders for merchants. The receiver would use heat or a special chemical wash to make secret words appear between the lines. **

"Is that where we get 'reading between the lines' from?" Reagan asked.

"I think so," Amy said. "It could also be from…" She named off a few things before Reagan went under, ignoring her.

**Of course, we can't damage our documents by spraying chemicals on them, so we use a black light to check for secret messages instead."**

**Amy held up the black light reader. "Can we –"**

"**I can save you time, my dear," the librarian said.**

"Rejected!" Hamilton said.

"**We check all of our colonial documents as a matter of course. There are no secret messages, unfortunately."**

**Amy's heart sank.**

"Technically," Ted said, sitting on the stairs with his brother, "hearts can't sink."

**They'd wasted their time here, and she still didn't know what she was looking for.**

"You're looking for secret messages!" Jonah said, putting the book on his lap. "Duh!"

Amy rolled her eyes. Jonah was smart hip-hop wise, but in common sense, he was failing – miserably.

**She had a mental list of other places to visit, but it was very long. There was no way they could hit them all before eight tonight.**

_**Secret messages. **_

"Oh, no," Dan said. "The brain's working."

If Dan didn't shut up, she was getting closer to killing him.

**Franklin had written lots of letters to his friends and family while living in Europe. **_**Follow Franklin. **_**A crazy idea began to form in her head.**

"They usually are crazy," Dan said.

Amy glared. Where was a pie when she needed it?

**Amy looked at the librarian. "You said his letters were important to him. Is there any place else that keeps Franklin's letters on display?"**

**The librarian smiled. "Funny you should ask. Some of his most famous handwritten documents are showing this month at the Franklin Institute down on –"**

"Amy," Natalie scolded. "It's rude to interrupt adults."

"**The science museum?" Amy shot to her feet. "On 20****th**** Street?"**

"**Yes." The librarian looked startled. "But how did you –"**

"**Thanks!" Amy rushed out of the room with Dan right behind her.**

"How much longer?" Reagan whined.

Jonah looked. "Six."

Reagan hit the water, screaming, and then went under. Madison rolled her eyes. "Diva."

**It was a quick drive to the Franklin Institute. Nellie wasn't too thrilled to sit in the car with the cat again, but Dan and Amy convinced her they wouldn't be long.**

"Yeah," Nellie mumbled. "Right after the place blew up."

Sinead tensed and stood up, along with her brothers. The three look-alike's walked out. Hamilton felt confused.

"What just happened?" he whispered.

Ian elbowed him in the ribs. "Idiot!" he hissed. "The explosion!"

"OHHHH!" Hamilton said.

Jonah face-palmed.

**They ran inside and found a twenty-foot-tall white marble statue of Benjamin Franklin gazing down at them from a giant chair in the entry chamber.**

"Holy almanacs," Madison mumbled.

"**Holy Almanacs," Dan said. "That's a big Ben."**

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Madison screamed as Reagan came up, not knowing about what just happened.

**Amy nodded. "At the end of his life, he was so heavy he had to be hauled around in a sedan chair carried by four big convicts."**

"A seed chair?" Hamilton asked.

"A sedan chair," Natalie said. "He was fat so he had to be carried around like Po in Kung Fu Panda, you bumbling buffoon." She rolled over, pulling her hair on her right shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Hamilton pouted. "You tiny bully…"

"And don't forget it!" Natalie said, smirking.

"**Sweet," Dan said. "I want a sedan chair."**

"**You weigh ninety pounds."**

"**RESOLUTION: Start eating more ice cream."**

"**Just come on!" **

**The museum was huge. They walked past the memorial and through the ticket area, then followed the map into the Franklin Gallery. It was already late in the afternoon and the place was pretty much deserted.**

_Better for a heist, _Ian thought. _Oh, god, I just sounded like Isabel. _

"**Check this out!" Dan picked up a mechanical arm and grabbed Amy's wrist with it.**

"A grabber?" Hamilton asked. "I know this one."

Madison face-palmed. "Hamilton, just shut up."

"**Stop that!" she said. "Franklin made that for getting things off high shelves, not annoying your sister."**

"**I bet if he had a sister –"**

"**He did have a sister!**

"SNAP!" Jonah and Hamilton said in a girl voice.

**Dan we need to find his letters. Stop messing around."**

**They kept walking. They found a display of Franklin's lightning rods, a bunch of bifocals, and one of his batteries for generating electricity – a wooden crate full of glass jars, all wired together.**

"**This thing is huge," Dan said. "What is that, like, a double Z battery? And whoa, what is **_**that?" **_

"Daniel, are you ADHD?" Natalie asked.

"No," Dan said.

"Then shut up. You're annoying."

"WELL THEN! FORGET YOU TOO!"

**He ran over to another display. **

"No running in the museum," Nellie scolded.

**Inside was a mahogany box holding a row of closely fitted glass saucers, like a stack of cereal bowls.**

"**It's an armonica," Amy said, reading the description. "It makes music by rubbing water on the rims of the glasses." **

"**Awesome. Franklin invented that?"**

"**Yeah. Says here it was really popular for a while. Lots of famous composers wrote music for…"**

**Amy froze. A tall gray-haired man had just crossed the hallway in the next gallery, heading toward the information desk. And he was wearing a black suit.**

"You know," Jonah said. "Fiske isn't that scary."

"Um, we were fourteen and eleven on our own with our punk rock au pair and a Red-Snapper eating cat trying not to die," Dan said matter-of-factly. "Everything was scary."

"Dan…" Amy said. "We still are fourteen and eleven…"

"There's a wasp next to you," Ian pointed out.

Dan screamed like a little girl, swatted, and then went under.

"**What?" Dan asked.**

"**Man in black," Amy murmured. "Run!"**

"No running in a museum!" Nellie said. "Did you not hear me?"

**She grabbed her brother's hand and they fled deeper into the gallery. They didn't stop until they were two rooms away, hiding behind a large glass sphere that showed the solar system. **

"**What's he **_**doing**_** here?" Amy fretted. **

"Fretted," Jonah repeated slowly. "Fretttteeddd… Frrrrreeeeeettttteddd…."

"Jonah." Amy said, staring at him like he was stupid.

"Oh… You saw nothing…"

"**Duh," Dan said. "The fire didn't work, so he's here to get us! We can't go out the main exit. He'll be waiting to jump us as soon as we try."**

"You've played too many video games," Ian said.

**Amy looked around nervously for another way out. Then she noticed what was on the wall right next to them. Documents. Cases full of documents – all yellowing parchment, written in spidery handwriting. **

"Spiders," Nellie mumbled, shuddering.

"**Franklin's letters!" she said. "Quick, the black light reader~" **

**Dan fumbled in his backpack and brought out the light. They held it up to the first letter and shone it through the glass. The document seemed to be some kind of request for supplies. It started:**

_**Sir, – I wrote you lately via New York, which I hope may come to hand. I have only time now to desire you to send me the following items, viz. **_

_**1 Doz. – Cole's Eng. Dictionaries**_

_**3 Doz. – Mather's Young Man's Compan'n **_

_**1 Qty. – Iron Solute**_

_**2 – Quarter Waggoner's for America**_

**Purple light passed over the paper, but nothing happened.**

"Oh, I love purple!" Natalie said. "It goes great with my eyes!"

"**Next!" Amy said. She was sure the man in black was going to burst in on them any second.**

"**Whoa!" Dan said.**

**Amy gripped his arm. "You found it?"**

"**No, but look! This whole essay – 'To the Royal Academy.' He wrote a whole essay on farts!" Dan grinned with delight. "He's proposing a scientific study of different fat smells. You're right, Amy. This guy was a genius!" **

All of the guys busted out laughing. Even Ian snickered. The twins laughed along with Nellie, but Amy and Natalie remained silent. Once they got over their laughing fit, Jonah looked at them.

"Well, you guys are bumps on a log!" he pouted.

"**Dan, you're such a dweeb! Keep searching!" **

Dan fake saluted. "SIR, YES SIR!"

Hamilton dunked him. "AMY IS A MA'AM!"

**They scanned for more documents written by Franklin. Nothing showed up. Then, on the fifth one, Dan said, "Here!" **

**Thankfully, it wasn't another fart essay. **

"Aw," Hamilton and Jonah pouted.

**The letter was something Franklin had written in Paris in 1785 to someone named Jay. Amy didn't know what it was about. She didn't have time to read it. But glowing yellow in the black light beams were lines between the lines – a secret message in the handwriting of Benjamin Franklin. **

_**Soon must I leave**_

_**This place of wonder**_

_**But I leave behind**_

_**What hath driven my clan asunder.**_

"Franklin wrote poetry?" Madison asked.

Jonah face-palmed. "For the love of Jane Cahill!" he exclaimed.

**Below, drawn by hand, was a crest with two snakes coiled around a sword. **

**Amy gasped. "That's one of the crests from Grace's library – the one with the L. Franklin must've been a Lucian!" **

Ian rubbed his temples. This was giving him a headache from all the lack of common sense unused in this chapter.

"**So this is the second clue?" Dan asked. "Or a clue to the clue?"**

**A camera clicked. "Either way," a girl's voice said. "Nice job."**

"Dun dun dun!" Hamilton says for sound effects. "AND THE PLOT THICKENS!"

**Amy turned and found herself surrounded by the Starlings. They wore identical preppy clothes as usual – khakis, button-downs, and loafers. Sinead's auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her brothers, Ted and Ned, stood on either side of her, smiling in an unfriendly way. Sinead was holding her cell phone, which she'd obviously just used to take a photo of **_**their **_**clue. **

"AND THE PLOT THICKENS SOME MORE!" Jonah exclaimed.

"**You lost us pretty well on the highway," Sinead admitted. "Fortunately, there were only so many Franklin sites you could've been heading to. Thanks for the clue." **

"You're not welcome," Dan mumbled.

**She snatched the black light away from Dan. "Now, listen close. You brats are going to stay in the museum for half an hour. Give us a head start or we'll be forced to tie you up. If you leave early, I promise Ted and Ned will find out about it. And they won't be happy.**

**Her two brothers grinned evilly.**

Jonah was snickering as he said this. He put his hand over his mouth, but his body racked with laughter even more, which made his leg hurt. Everyone stared at him.

"How is that funny?" Ian asked.

"She's talking to them like they're two!" Jonah says through gasps. "Plus, 'They won't be happy!' is hilarious!"

The Cahills stare at him.

"How?" Nellie asks.

"I don't know!" Jonah admits through tears of laughter.

He laughs for about a minute until Natalie stands up, walks over to him, and slaps him, snatching the book. "You take too long." She stormed back over to her chair and opened the book. She began:

**Sinead turned to leave, but Amy blurted out," W-w-wait!" **

**Sinead raised an eyebrow.**

"**Th-there's a man…" Amy tried to say more, but the Starlings were all glaring at her. She felt like she'd been submerged in ice water. **

"I want an Icee!" Reagan blurted, only catching part of what just happened.

Madison shook her head. "Shut up, Reagan."

"**What man?" Sinead asked. **

"**He's been watching us!" Dan said. "Following us! It isn't safe to go out the main entrance." **

**Sinead smiled. "You're concerned for our safety? That's very cute, Dan, but the thing is" – Sinead leaned in and poked him in the stomach with every word – "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU."**

"Well," Dan said. "But I was right!"

Amy shot him a look. "Dan, shut up."

**Sinead and her brothers laughed, then turned and jogged toward the main exit. **

**Before Amy could even think what to do, a low horrible hum shook the floor.**

Hamilton knew this. When he was… _there _for the past two months, he had to learn sounds. Explosion sounds. Gun sounds. Different animal sounds. He is enrolled there until he graduated, then he gets bumped up unto another class. This was a training class. The next one… the next one didn't have dummies for tests.

That was the sound of a floor panel weight sensor – the one _he _set up.

**And then: **_**BOOOM!**_

**Glass display cases shattered. The whole building shuddered. Amy was thrown against Dan and they crumpled to the floor. **

**When she sat up, her vision was fuzzy. She wasn't sure how long she stayed there, dazed. She staggered to her feet and tugged on Dan's arm. **

"**Get up!" she said, but she couldn't hear her own voice.**

"**What?" he mouthed.**

**She hauled him to his feet. Together they ran toward the exit. Smoke and dust filled the air. Emergency lights flashed from the fire alarms. A pile of rubble blocked the exit from the Franklin Gallery, as if part of the ceiling had collapsed. On the floor near Amy's feet lay the shattered black light and Sinead's cell phone. **

**And there was no sign of the Starlings at all.**

No one said a word through that part. Everyone was silent, especially the Holts. A guilty look was in their eyes. Dan was still. Ian was still. Jonah had stopped laughing. Amy was reading over Natalie's shoulder.

Everyone knew they were all involved with that somehow. Not physically, but they had made Sinead and her brothers not believe. She didn't listen because she was thinking about the competition.

"Amy," Ted called, his eyes staring at nothing as he stuck his head out of the door.

Amy turned. "Yes?"

"Sinead wants you," he said. "She's… she needs you."

Amy walked in as everyone stood in silence, but they could almost hear Sinead sniffling and gasping as she cried in the sun-room. Everyone decided to go in then.

Hamilton filled with regret. _He _did this. It was _his _fault. Yet he just stood there like an idiot, wondering why they left.

He had to do something. But first, he needed a towel. He grabbed one of his sisters, quickly dried himself off, and then tossed it back on the chair, walking away.

"HAMILTON!" Reagan screamed. "THAT WAS MY TOWEL!"

_**A/N: AH! DON'T KILL ME! THEY TOLD ME TO DO IT! PLEASE! **_

_**JK! Well, actually, don't kill me, because then I can't write this story! Anyways, sorry for taking, like, two months. I have school. School = algebra. Algebra = homework. Homework = never having time to write this.**_


	9. Ian's Not-So-Snow-White Experience

**Chapter 9**

Sinead was crying her eyes out.

Her scars felt fresh. Her body ached. But, yet, the crying wasn't out of sadness; it was out of anger. She wanted revenge. She was tired of knowing that she could never be in a pageant, never feel good in a bikini because of those scars, she could never wear strapless unless everyone saw them, and she felt confined to long sleeves, jeans, and jackets.

Amy appeared, grabbed a random jacket and pulled it around her, and sat down next to Sinead. All Amy had on was her two piece, shorts, and a jacket. Amy hugged Sinead and comforted her. Ned and Ted sat on the other side of her.

"Hey, it's ok," Amy said.

Sinead sobbed.

"Come on," Amy said. "Let's go to your room."

Sinead nodded and walked with Amy upstairs as the others walked in. Once the two were out of earshot, Dan looked at Ian.

"Wasn't that your jacket?" Dan asked.

"Yes," Ian said. "Yes, it was."

They all went upstairs and took a shower, even though Hamilton complained afterwards that his was cold. They all went into the den, where couches and recliners sat and coffee tables stood. There was a "L" shaped leather couch, and a fireplace lay next to it.

Jonah was in a t-shirt and jeans, and the ankle and foot of his cast shown underneath the leg of his pants. Ian was in his usual nice clothes, which made Natalie debate about whether he was trying to impress Amy. Natalie was in a pink dress with a black quarter length sleeve jacket that came to her ribs with a pair of black flats and skin colored leggings. Amy was still upstairs, but the sound of water was faintly heard. Dan had on a t-shirt with simple jeans. Hamilton had a US Marines shirt on with a pair of sweatpants. Madison had on her school t-shirt, while Reagan had some team hockey team shirt. Ned and Ted had similar things on that they wore to Grace's funeral. Nellie came down a few minutes later with pink hair.

They all sat down on the couch and sat in silence for what seemed like hours until Alistair and Fiske came downstairs, frowning.

"What did you do to Sinead?" Alistair hissed. He looked at Ned and Ted. "Not you two, mind you. She said something about the chapter you just read."

"Um, well, that was the chapter where the Starling's exploded," Jonah said.

"Why are we even here?" Hamilton asked.

Fiske shrugged. "You're guess is as good as mine."

"We're in the Hunger Games?!" Natalie asked cheerfully.

"NO!" everyone said simultaneously.

She folded her arms and pouted. "A simple no would've been sufficient."

"Let's just read the books, so we can all leave and go about our life," Alistair suggested. "I'll read."

He picked up the book off of the coffee table where Jonah had laid it and opened it. He held up the Skittles package. Sighing, he laid it down and read:

**Dan decided that explosions were cool, but not if you were in one.**

Ned and Ted seemed to grow angry. "Explosions aren't cool," Ted growled.

**The whole way to Independence Hall, Amy cradled Saladin's cat carrier like it was her life preserver. Nellie yelled at them for being so reckless. Dan's hearing was so messed up it sounded like she was talking from the bottom of a fish tank. **

Jonah made a fish face. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…"

"**I can't believe this!" Nellie said. "A real **_**bomb? **_**I thought you were joking!"**

"Yeah, because Sinead's scars are a joke," Ned says coldly.

Nellie gave him a confused look. "I didn't mean it that way."

**Amy wiped her eyes. "The Starlings… they just –"**

"**Maybe they're okay," Dan said, but it sounded lame even to him. **

_Fine, _Ted and Ned thought. _Of course, PERFECT!_

**They hadn't stuck around for the police to arrive. They'd been so freaked out they'd simply fled, so Dan had no idea what had happened to the triplets. He didn't figure it was a good sign that they'd found Sinead's phone next to a whole section of collapsed roof. **

The two brothers winced silently.

**Nellie yanked the wheel and they turned onto Sixth Street. "You guys, this is serious. Somebody tried to kill you.**

"Ya don't say?" Dan said, staring at Nellie like she was stupid.

**I can't babysit you if –"**

"**Au pair us," Dan corrected.**

"– **whatever!"**

**She pulled the car in front of Independence Hall. The sun was going down, and in the evening light, the place looked exactly like it did in school videos – a two story brick building with a big white clock tower, surrounded by trees and flower beds. A statue of some Revolutionary dude stood out front. The hall didn't look all that impressive compared to the huge modern buildings around it, but back in the day, Dan guessed it was probably the biggest place in town. He could imagine Franklin and all his friends with powdered wigs and three-cornered hats gathering on the steps to talk about the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution, or maybe ben's latest proposal for studying farts. **

Dan snickered immaturely. "Farts…"

Natalie flicked him in the ear. "Grow up a little." He crossed her legs. "A study about bodily functions isn't all that funny."

Hamilton and Jonah was grinning evilly. Oh, how Natalie didn't understand the way a boys mind works.

**The whole scene made Dan think of American history tests, which were almost as scary as exploring museums. **

Dan waited for Amy's comment about how museums were great and full of knowledge and how he shouldn't take that for granted, blah, blah, blah. But the comment didn't come.

"Wait…" Dan looked around. "Where is my sister!?"

"Upstairs with Sinead," Natalie said, checking her nails.

Dan frowned. He wasn't used to this. Amy wasn't supposed to change up what they had been doing for 11 years. Where was her comment? Why wasn't she calling him "Dweeb"?

"**Look, guys," Nellie said. "The deal's off. Whatever you've gotten yourselves into – this is way too dangerous for a couple of kids. I'm going to take you back to your aunt."**

"**No!" Dan said. "Nellie, you can't. She'll –"**

**He stopped himself, but Nellie's blue-glitter-shaded eyes narrowed. "She'll **_**what?"**_

"She would've made me count her cat collection," Dan said.

Wait for it…..

Still no Amy comment.

"If she, like, hurt you two, I would've called the cops," Nellie said.

"The most she hurt us was hurting our ears when we accidentally broke one of her creepy cats," Dan said.

**Dan glanced at Amy for help, but she was still in shock, just staring out the window.**

"Dan, you dweeb!" Dan said in a high pitched voice. "Who wouldn't be in shock? And you're the one who lied to her!"

"Dude, if you miss her that much, go get her," Jonah said.

Dan glared. "I don't miss her."

"You're talking like her."

Dan sighed. "AMY HOPE CAHILL GET DOWN HERE!"

No footsteps coming down the stairs to scream at him for yelling. No "Dweeb" calling. No coming out of the room, shoot a dirty look, and then storming away.

What was going on with his life?

"**Nothing," Dan said. "Nellie, this is important. Please. Just wait for us." **

**Nellie fumed. "I've got, like, six more songs on my playlist, okay? If you're not back in the car when the last song is over, and ready to **_**explain **_**things to me **_**honestly, **_**I am **_**so **_**calling Beatrice."**

Hamilton covered his ears. "Shut-Your-Mouth."

"What's wrong with you?" Nellie asked.

"That woman is PURE EVIL!" he growled.

"How?" Ian asked.

Hamilton clammed up.

_US Marines shirt… Scared of Beatrice… Sworn to secrecy… Something's up, _Ian thought. _And I'm going to find out._

"Ham?" Dan asked.

"He's been sworn to secrecy, so," Reagan started and then Madison joined in, "SHUT YOUR FACE!"

"Can I read?" Alistair asked.

"**You got it!" Dan promised. He tried to push Amy out of the car, but she must've still been in shock, because she held on to Saladin's cat carrier.**

"_MRRP!" _Saladin screamed in Ian's ear.

Ian screamed like a girl and fell to the floor. "DON'T KILL ME!" he yelped as he dived behind Fiske's chair. Fiske turned around as Saladin jumped in Jonah's lap, curled up, and purred.

"What do you think you're doing?" Fiske asked.

"Hiding from the Devil's Cat," Ian answered. He tried to get up, but there was a loud cat scream and Saladin had lunged, claws out and screaming, at Ian's face. Ian screamed and tried to grab the cat, who was trying to claw his eyes out.

"HELP HIM!" Natalie shrieked at Dan.

It took a second for it to register for Dan. "Oh!" Dan grabbed Saladin, taking a few scratches on his arms, but besides that, Saladin calmed down and curled up in his arms.

Ian, on the other hand… his shirt was shredded, along with his face. Claw marks were everywhere, his hair was everywhere like Albert Einstein, and he stumbled to get up.

"Buh… Wah…" Ian tried to spit out, but he was in shock. "THAT EVIL CAT TRIED TO KILL ME!"

"_Mrrp," _Saladin said softly, flicking his tail and staring straight at Ian.

Amy and Sinead came running downstairs, looking panicked. Then, when they saw Ian, they both laughed.

"Wow, Ian," Amy said. "What'd you do this time?"

"HE JUST ATTACKED ME!" Ian shrieked, pointing his hand at Saladin.

The two girls exchanged looks and smirked. They sat down on the couch, Amy sitting next to Ian and Sinead beside her brothers.

Ian was muttering under his breath about how he wanted to skin that cat, but when Amy hit him in the stomach with her fist, he stopped.

"**What are you doing?" Dan asked. "Leave him here."**

"**No," Amy fumbled to cover the carrier with a blanket. "We need to take him."**

**Dan didn't know why, but he decided not to argue. They hurried along the sidewalk. They were halfway up the steps of Independence hall when Dan realized the place was closed for the night. "How do we get in?" **

"**Children!" a voice called. "Over here!"**

"Inside help," Jonah said. He slammed his fist on the table. "I KNEW IT!"

"Shut up, Jonah," Amy said, rolling her eyes.

Dan attacked her in a hug. "YOU'RE BACK!"

"Missed you too?" she said, confused.

**William McIntyre was leaning against the building, half hidden behind a rosebush. Amy ran over and gave the old lawyer a hug, which seemed to embarrass him. He had a bandage on his left hand and a cut below his right eye, but other than that he looked pretty good for a guy who'd just gotten out of the hospital.**

"**I'm glad you're safe," he said. "I heard about the Franklin Institute on the news. I assume you were there?"**

"**It was horrible," Amy said. She told him everything – from the secret library in Grace's mansion right up to the man in black in the museum and the Starling triplets going **_**ka-boom.**_

The three Starlings winced.

"Seriously?" Ned asked. "Ka-boom?"

Dan didn't know what to say. Technically, he didn't say that. It was just in the description.

**Mr. McIntyre frowned. "I called Jefferson University Hospital. The Starlings will survive, but they're in bad shape. They'll be recovering for months, which puts them out of the race permanently, I fear."**

"**It was the man in black," Dan said. "He set that trap for us."**

"I did no such thing," Fiske said, folding his arms. "Why would I try to blow up my great-niece and nephew?"

"Well, I don't know, you could've said something," Dan said.

"When I tried, you two ran. I'm old! I can't sprint after you two."

**Mr. McIntyre's eye twitched. He took off his spectacles and polished them with his tie, his nose casting a shadow across the side of his face. "This explosion… from your description, I'd say it was a sonic detonator. Very sophisticated, designed to stun and cause only localized damage. Someone knew what they were doing."**

Hamilton was twiddling his thumbs, being quieter than usual. He did it. He felt guilty. There wasn't one day that went by that he was guilty about it.

"**How do you know so much about explosives?" Dan asked.**

"One does not simply question Mr. McIntyre," Jonah said.

**The old man focused on him, and Dan got the sudden feeling he hadn't always been a lawyer. He'd seen things in his life – dangerous things. "Dan, you must be careful. This explosion was almost the end of the race for you. I had hoped to stay out of the competition. I must not be seen as partial to any one team. But when your grandmother's mansion burned down… well, I realized just how much of a predicament I'd put you in."**

"Help, help, help," Reagan muttered.

"Oh, shut up," Natalie said. "Your family was the ones who blew _them _up." She nodded at the Starlings.

Reagan and Natalie glared. Everyone in the room stared at Natalie in shock.

"WHY ARE YOU STICKING UP FOR ME?!" Dan gasped.

Natalie, realizing what she was doing, rolled her eyes. "I wasn't doing it for you; I'm trying to get on with the story."

Alistair sighed. "If only I had my spray bottle…"

"**That's why you sent us the black light reader?"**

**Mr. McIntyre nodded. "I'm concerned by how much the other teams are targeting **_**you. **_

"Because you were easy targets?" Reagan and Madison said. "JINX YOU OWE ME A SODA! NUH-UH! UH-HUH!"

"Will you shut up?" Jonah asked.

"NO!" they screamed together.

**They seem determined to put you out of commission."**

"**But they failed!" Dan said. "We go the second clue. Nobody else has it, right?"**

"**Dan, what you found is merely a **_**lead **_**to the second clue. Make no mistake, it is a good lead, and I'm glad the black light reader was useful. But it is by no means the **_**only **_**clue. Other teams may find different paths toward the next clue. Or, if they believe you have useful information, they can simply follow you, as the Starlings tried to do, and take the information from you."**

"And we would've got away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids," Ted grumbled.

"SCOOBY-DOOBY-DOOOOOO!" Ned howled. They laughed, but it ended in both holding their heads, owing.

**Dan felt like kicking the wall.**

"And breaking your foot," Natalie said.

**Every time they got a break, something bad happened, or it turned out they weren't nearly as close to the next clue as he'd thought. "So how do we know when we find the actual second clue? Is it going to have a big sign on it – CLUE TWO?"**

Jonah snapped. "Oh, Golly-Gee! I don't it does!"

"**You will know," Mr. McIntyre said. "It will be more… substantial. And essential piece of the puzzle."**

"**Great," Dan grumbled. "That clears it up."**

"**What if Nellie's right?" Amy's voice quavered.**

"Nellie is always right," Nellie said. "And even when Nellie's wrong, Nellie's right."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Sure, you believe that."

Nellie glared. "Kiddo, say Nellie is always right or I will go eat your ice cream."

Dan's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

"Cherry Garcia!" Nellie said, running into the kitchen.

"EVIL!" Dan screamed as he climbed over the couch and sprinted after her. Soon, Nellie was standing on the table holding it above her head, scooping it into her mouth.

Jonah leaned over to Hamilton and asked quietly, "I'm not the only one who thinks Nellie's hot, right?"

"Who doesn't?" Hamilton replied.

They nodded.

Alistair cleared his throat. "SIT DOWN OR _I WILL COME OVER THERE AND EAT. THAT. ICE CREAM. MYSELF."_

"Harsh," Fiske said.

Nellie and Dan sat down with two spoons and began eating, glaring at the old Ekat.

"**What if this is too dangerous for a couple of kids?"**

"**Don't say that!" Dan cried. **

**Amy turned to him. Her eyes reminded him of broken glass. They had that shimmering, kind of fragile look. "Dan, we almost died. The Starlings are in the hospital, and it's only the second day of the contest. How can we keep up like this?"**

**His throat felt dry. Amy had a point. But could they just walk away? He imagined going to Beatrice and apologizing.**

"Never," Dan growled. "She can rot in hell –"

"DAN!" Amy shrieked, popping him on the arm.

"WHAT!" He shrieked back.

"DON'T TALK LIKE THAT!" she screamed. "DWEEB!"

"Make me!"

Amy snatched his spoon and his and Nellie's ice cream away.

"But… Kiddo," Nellie tried.

"You're the adult here," Amy said. "No cussing or no ice cream."

Nellie popped his other arm. "DAN NO CUSSING!"

**He could reclaim his collection, go back to school, have a normal life where people weren't trying to trap him in fires or blow him up every few hours.**

"But that's fun," Natalie said. "Well, trying to blow them up at least."

"Or locking them in caves," Amy growled loud enough to where only Ian, who was next to her, could hear. She folded her arms.

"Are you still on this?" he asked.

"Actually, yes!" she snapped.

"NO FIGHTING!" Alistair snapped. He picked up Hamilton's Gatorade and threw it in Amy's and Ian's face. They blinked and stared at him, then, screams came.

"STUPID OLD MAN!" Ian yelled. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Amy screamed. "ARE YOU CRAZY!?"

"SILENCE!" Hamilton yelled, banging a stapler on the coffee table.

They stopped. "Where did you get a stapler?" Amy asked.

"Alistair, read."

**Mr. McIntyre must've seen what he was thinking because the old man's face paled. "Children, no. You **_**mustn't**_** consider it."**

"**We – we're just kids," Amy stammered. "You can't expect us –"**

"**My dear, it's too late!" For a moment, Mr. McIntyre sounded really panicked… **_**terrified **_**that they'd back out. Dan didn't understand why. Then the old man took a deep breath. He seemed to collect his nerves. "Children, you **_**can't **_**go back. Your Aunt Beatrice was furious when you disappeared. She's talking of hiring a detective to find you."**

"How many people were following you?!" Jonah asked. "All of us! Fiske! _And _a detective?!"

Amy and Dan shrugged. "We couldn't count them all."

"**She doesn't even care about us!" Dan said.**

"**Be that as it may, until she officially turns you over to Social Services, she will get in legal trouble if anything happens to you. If you return to Boston, you'll be sent to foster homes. The two of you may not even be put together. There's no returning to your old life now."**

"**Couldn't you help us?" Amy asked. "I mean, you're a lawyer."**

Everyone leaned towards Alistair to listen to see if they'd help.

"**I'm helping too much already. Occasional information is all I can give."**

**Dan's ears pricked up. "Information like what?"**

"SECRETS!" Jonah hissed.

**Mr. McIntyre lowered his voice. "One of your competitors, Jonah Wizard, is preparing for an overseas journey.**

"So Mac-And-Cheese was spying on me?" Jonah asked.

"Mac-and-Cheese?" Sinead asked.

"You know, McIntyre. Mac-And-Cheese."

Sinead looked confused. "That doesn't make any sense."

"For an Ekat, you have no common sense."

Sinead glared. Jonah stuck his tongue out and folded his arms.

**I fear you will run into him quite soon. He and his father made first class reservations in New York this morning."**

"He's a spy!" Jonah gasped.

"**Where are they going?" Dan asked.**

"**If you think about the information you found, I think you'll know."**

"**Yes," Amy said. "I **_**do. **_**And we're going to get there first." **

"Watch out, we gotta badass up in here!" Dan said.

Amy hit him with her fist in the stomach and he doubled over.

"Ok, I'm done!" he croaked, holding his stomach.

"Dweeb," she growled.

**Dan didn't know what she was talking about, but he was glad to see her looking angry again.**

"I lied," Dan gasped.

"Amy, I don't think you hit his stomach," Ian said. All the guys in the room winced.

Natalie was cracking up.

**It was no time giving Amy a hard time when she was crying. **

**Mr. McIntyre breathed on a sigh of relief. "So you'll carry on. You won't give up?"**

**Amy looked at Dan, and they came to a silent agreement. **

"**We'll keep going for now," Amy said. "But, Mr. McIntyre, why are you **_**really **_**helping us? You're not helping any of the other teams, are you?"**

**The old lawyer hesitated. "In the franklin Institute, you said you warned the Starlings they were in danger."**

The Starlings were staring at the floor.

"**Of course we did," Amy said.**

"**They wouldn't have done the same for you."**

The Starlings shook their head.

"**Maybe, but it seemed like the right thing."**

"**Interesting…" He glanced toward the street. "I can say no more. I must –"**

"**Please," Amy said. "One more favor." She uncovered Saladin's cat carrier, and suddenly Dan realized why she'd brought it. **

"**Amy, no!" **

"YES!" Ian said. "HA!"

Saladin hissed and clawed the air at him. Ian yelped and hid behind Amy. "Help me."

"**Dan, we have to," she said. "It isn't safe for him."**

**He was about to argue, but something stopped him. He thought about dragging the poor cat up that air vent in the fire, then making him sit through a train ride stuffed in the cat carrier. What if Saladin had been in the museum explosion with them?**

"Delightful," Ian said.

Amy turned and glared. Then she picked up Saladin and dropped him in Ian's lap. Ian froze. Saladin had a cat like smirk when he flicked his tail and then he lay down and went to sleep.

Ian was pale and looked like he was going to faint. "And I thought we were friends."

"We are, just don't make fun of my cat," Amy said.

**If the little dude got hurt, Dan would never forgive himself.**

"Alistair, you sound funny saying dude," Jonah said.

"Dude!" Hamilton said.

"Dude!" Dan chorused, regaining his voice.

"Dude!" Jonah said.

Alistair stared at them funny. "Ok…."

"**All right," he sighed.**

"**Is that Madame Grace's cat?" Mr. McIntyre scowled. "How did you –"**

"**He escaped the fire with us," Amy said. **

"Sadly," Ian muttered.

Saladin swiped a paw across his face, cutting it worse.

"Amy, take your _cat _before I skin it," Ian growled. It sounded like he was holding a lot back.

Amy sighed and picked up the cat. Ian glared at it. Natalie noticed he was biting his tongue.

"Brother dear, just let it out," she says.

Ian shot her a death look and sat there in silence.

"**We were hoping to keep him, but… we can't where we're going. It wouldn't be fair for us to drag him along. Could you keep him for us?"**

"_**Mrrp." **_**Saladin gave Dan a look like **_**you can't be serious.**_

Arnold the pit bull came trotting up. He laid his head in Hamilton's lap and whined.

"What's wrong, Buddy?" Hamilton asked, petting his head. "You hungry?"

His tail wagged and knocked over four drinks into Reagan and Madison's lap. Arnold whined again ran over to them, licking up the drink off of their laps.

"Good boy," they said, petting him.

He barked and wagged his tail, happily. Hamilton went in there and poured water and food in two bowls and Arnold bounded in there, skidding and sliding.

**Mr. McIntyre had pretty much the same expression. "I don't know, my dear. I am not, well, an **_**animal **_**person. I had a dog once, Oliver, but –"**

"**Please," Amy said. "He was our grandmother's. I need to know he's safe." **

**The old lawyer looked like he wanted to run, but he took a deep breath. "Very well. For a little while." **

"**Thank you!" Amy handed him the carrier. "He only eats fresh fish. Red snapper is his favorite."**

**Mr. McIntyre blinked. "Red snapper?**

"Spoiled cat," Jonah said as Arnold came trotting back in. He stopped in front of Amy, where Saladin got on his back, _Mrrp-_ed, and then they went upstairs.

"My dog's a butler!" Hamilton said.

**Ah, well… I'll see what I can do."**

"_**Mrrp," **_**Saladin said, which probably meant something like **_**I can't believe you're leaving me with an old guy who doesn't know I like red snapper.**_

"Like I said – SPOILED CAT!"

"**Children, you should go," Mr. McIntyre said. "Your babysitter**

"Au pair!" Dan said. "Is it that hard to remember!?"

**is getting impatient. Just remember what I said before. Trust no one!"**

**And with that, William McIntyre retreated down the street, holding Saladin's cat carrier out to one side like it was a box of radioactive material.**

"He is," Ian growled.

"If you don't stop talking about my cat, I'm going to kill you," Amy snapped.

"You wouldn't."

"Are you sure about that?"

Amy looked over Ian's shoulder and smirked. Ian turned. It wasn't Saladin; it was Arnold, who didn't look happy. He growled and his ears were laid back, showing his teeth.

"Good dog," Ian whimpered. "Hamilton… Help…"

Hamilton paused. "Stop talking about Saladin."

But Natalie was the first to react with a pistol pointing at Arnold's head. Arnold growled at her and barked. "Call him off, or I shoot."

"Arnold, come here," he called, patting his leg.

Arnold didn't come quickly. He glared the whole way and then sat down beside Hamilton, watching Ian. His tail wasn't wagging like usual. He wasn't bouncing around. He walked over in front of Reagan and Madison, who was closer to Ian than Hamilton, and sat down.

**As they walked back to the car, Amy said, "We're going to Paris."**

**Dan was thinking about Saladin, and his ears were still ringing from the museum explosion, so he wasn't sure he heard her right. "Did you say Paris… like in France?"**

"No, Dan, Paris, Texas," Jonah said. "Yes, Paris, France."

**Amy brought out Sinead Starling's cell phone. The photo of Benjamin Franklin letter was still on the screen – the secret message a fuzzy yellow scrawl in purple light.**

"**When Franklin was really old," Amy said, "he was the American ambassador in Paris.**

"Ugh, a history lesson," Dan said. Then he smiled. "WE'RE ALL SKIPPING SCHOOL!"

"NO!" Amy and the Starlings screamed.

"Hamilton, aren't you going to Notre Dame?" Jonah asked.

Hamilton hesitated, and then shook his head.

"I thought you got a scholarship," Natalie said.

"He gave it up for a good reason, so stop asking him questions about it," Madison snapped.

"CAN I NOT JUST READ?" Alistair yelled. "WILL YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME!?"

Fiske blinked. "Wow, Alistair, calm down."

Alistair took a deep breath and kept reading.

**He was working on a peace treaty to end the Revolutionary War. He had a house in a place called Passy, and all the French thought he was like a rock star."**

"**They treat fat old guys like rock stars in France?"**

"**I told you, Franklin was world famous.**

"By being a fat old rock star," Dan said. "Gotcha."

**He was into philosophy and he like parties and all sorts of… French stuff. Anyway, the secret message said he was leaving Paris right? The letter was dated 1785. I'm pretty sure that's the year he came back to America. So he was leaving something behind in Paris."**

"**Something that broke up his clan," Dan said. "That's what asunder means, right? You think he was talking about the branches of the Cahills?"**

"Why do they call us branches?" Jonah asked. "We aren't _trees!" _

"You idiot," Natalie said, rolling her eyes. "I understand now why Van Gogh sent his girlfriend his ear – _because he was a Janus!" _

"Oh, shut up! At least I'm not related to Franklin!"

"That can be considered a good thing to some people," Ian said.

Arnold growled deep in his throat.

"What have I ever done to you?" Ian asked the dog.

Alistair cleared his throat, annoyed, and continued.

"**It's impossible." Amy twisted her hair. "Dan, what I said earlier… I don't really want to give up. I'm just scared."**

**Dan nodded. He didn't want to admit it, but the man in black and the explosion had kind of freaked him out, too.**

"I knew it," Amy said.

"I was eleven!" Dan protested.

"You still are!" a choir of people said around.

"This is an A B conversation so you guys can just C your way out of it," Dan said, embarrassed.

"No, this is a taco enchilada conversation, Nachos," Fiske said.

"BURN!" Jonah and Hamilton yelled.

"No seriously, was I that creepy?" Fiske asked.

Amy and Dan nodded heads. "A little bit."

"**It's okay. We have to keep going, right?"**

"**We don't have a choice," Amy agreed.**

**Before they reached the curb, the door to the Toyota flew open. Nellie marched over to them, one earbud still dangling from her ear. She held up her cell phone like she was going to throw it at them.**

"Watch out, we gotta baddie up in here!" Jonah said.

"**Guess what?" she said. "**_**I **_**just got a voicemail from Social Services in Boston!"**

**Amy gasped. **

All of the guys in the room, except Fiske and Alistair, faked gasped.

"Are you kidding me?" Alistair said. "I can't finish a sentence without you dimwits getting in my way?!"

"**What did you tell them?"**

"**Nothing **_**yet. **_**I'm waiting for your big amazing explanation!"**

"Very amazing alright," Nellie said grouchily.

"**Nellie, please," Dan said. "We **_**need **_**your help."**

"**They're looking for you!" Nellie shrieked. "Your aunt doesn't even know where you are, does she? Do you know how much trouble I could get in?"**

"**Throw away your phone," Dan suggested.**

"That's very easy," Natalie said, her purple perfectly manicured nails flying across her iPhone 5 screen. "OMG!"

"What?" Dan said, looking over her shoulder.

She pulled her phone where he couldn't see and snapped a picture.

"What…?" Dan asked, blinded by the flash.

"A friend wants to see what you look like," she said, fingers flying again. "Don't worry, I told her you're on the Chess Team and the Math Team!"

"I hate you."

"_**What?" **_**She sounded like he'd just told her to burn money – which of course Amy had already done that week.**

"**Pretend you didn't get the message," he pleaded, "just for a few days. "Please, Nellie, we need to get to Paris and we've got to have an adult."**

"**If you think for one minute I would – Did you say Paris?"**

"I hate when they do that," Nellie said.

"But you _love _us!" Dan said.

"Yes, Kiddo," she sighed.

**Dan saw his chance. He put on a sad face and sighed. "Yeah, we were going to buy you a ticket to Paris, plus your pay, and a free hotel room and gourmet meals and everything. But, oh, well…"**

Nellie rolled her eyes.

"**Nellie, just for a couple more days," Amy said. "Please! We weren't lying about the scavenger hunt. It's **_**really **_**important to our family and we promise we'll be careful. Once we're done in Paris, you can do whatever you think is best. We'll swear that it wasn't your fault. But if we go back to Boston now, they'll take us to a foster home.**

"I would've adopted you kiddos if they did," Nellie said.

"How? They would've blamed you," Amy said.

"Fine, you'd be under my sister's name, but I'd keep you," Nellie said. "But if you didn't want me too…"

"NO!" they yelled, hugging the punk rocker.

"Choking…"

**We'll fail the scavenger hunt. We might even be in **_**more **_**danger!" **

"**And you won't see Paris," Dan added. **

"Evil kiddos," Nellie growled.

**He wasn't sure which argument was most effective, but Nellie slipped her phone into her pocket. She knelt so she was looking them in the eyes.**

"**One more trip," she said.**

"Only because you want to go to Paris," Hamilton said.

"**But this could get me in huge trouble, guys. I want your promise: Paris, and then we get you **_**home. **_**Deal?"**

**Dan was thinking that they had no home to return to, but he crossed his fingers behind his back and said, "Deal."**

"**Deal," Amy agreed.**

"LIES!" Madison and Reagan yelled.

"**I'm going to regret this," Nellie muttered. "But I might as well regret it in Paris."**

"Trust me, once you're – OMG SHE THINKS YOU'RE CUTE!" She grinned evilly at Dan when her phone buzzed again. He grin got wider. "… In a little kid sort of way."

Dan's face turned red and he glared. "Like I said, I hate you."

**She marched back to the car and got in the driver's side. **

**Dan looked at his sister. "Um… about money. I figure we've got three one-way tickets. We can get to Paris and have enough left for hotels and food and stuff for maybe a week. But I don't know if we'll have enough to get back. If Nellie finds out –"**

"**Let's worry about that when we get there," Amy said. And she ran to the car, already taking her passport out of her back pocket."**

Everyone paused as Alistair took the Skittles wrapper like it was radioactive material and set it in the book. He handed it to Nellie. "You're turn, Miss Gomez."

_**A/N: WAH! *Ending with a Shane Dawson ending* Hoped you liked it, I worked hard on it. Sorry for taking so long. School... Bleh. Anyways, Thanks for voting in that poll on my page. **_

_**Nellie - 6 votes**_

_**Nellie: YES! WINNER!**_

_**Reagan: 2 votes**_

_**Reagan: Well I hate you too! Those two are probably Mom and Dad! Idiots...**_

_**Fiske: A WHOPPING 0 votes... **_

_**Fiske: Yeah, pick on the old man.**_

_**So, now for chapter 10... and a twist... MWHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! **_


	10. The Voice From the Intercom

**Chapter 10**

Nellie stared at Alistair. "I'm not reading."

"Oh, but yes you are. We're all reading, and that's final," Alistair said. "It's only four pages long."

"BUT I'LL KILL SOMEONE FOR INTERRUPTING ME!"

"We all lived through it. I'm pretty sure you can too."

She sighed and picked up the book. "We need a new bookmark," she grumbled, crumbling the Skittles wrapper in her hand and tossing it on the table. She turned and laid her legs in Amy's and Ian's lap. She looked up at them and nodded at Dan. "I'd ship it."

"Ship?" Ian asked. "You don't have a ship!"

"Ian, shipping means that someone believes that two people are in or will be in a relationship, and it usually has names," Jonah said. "You guys, for instance, are Amian."

"B-b-but… huh?" Amy squeaked.

Ian frowned. "How do you know about Korea?"

Everyone paused except Alistair, Natalie, and Dan. "What happened in Korea?" Madison Holt asked, leaning closer.

"_Ian!" _Amy hissed, glaring.

"I honestly thought they knew," Ian defended. "Besides, nothing _really _happened."

"We had to remind you two to keep it PG," Dad noted.

"You're not helping," Amy and Ian said simultaneously.

"We want to hear about Korea," Jonah said.

"It's in the books," Amy said. Again, there she goes, saving Ian's life – figuratively.

Jonah and the Holts raced over to the bookshelf where the books had been neatly stacked the night before by their unknown guests. It's actually kind of creepy, thinking about it – Cahill's creeping through the house at night, cleaning up after you and going through your stuff to make sure there isn't any way you could contact someone and they could trace you down. It was also weird that there were people watching, always watching like Roz from Monsters Inc.

"Hey, where's book three!?" Jonah exclaimed, staring at the bookshelf, blocking the twins from demolishing it.

Amy shrugged. "I guess the decided we didn't need to read that yet."

Then a voice came from the ceiling – no, all around – it was hard to pin-point, but it obviously came from an intercom. "Oh, but you do." It was a man's voice, one they didn't recognize, but Amy's head snapped up in shock. "See, Amy and Ian are hiding it, because they don't want you to ruin their love life. But – SHUT UP ISABEL! – Ya see, you have to read all the books. It'll help – I'LL TELL HIM NOW STOP BEING A TWAT AND GO DO YOUR NAILS – Ian, your mother says that you won't become the Lucian leader if you marry some Madrigal – YOU HAPPY NOW! That woman…. Ok, continue!"

The intercom clicked off and Alistair gave Fiske a nervous look.

"Uncle Alistair," Amy said, "who was that?"

Ian leaned back. "I feel sorry for whomever that brute was; he's going to get himself killed!" He paused. "No, never mind. I really don't."

Alistair looked at Amy. "I think you know."

Dan was looking from Alistair to Amy again and again. "Guys, what are you talking about?"

Amy shook her head. "We'll tell you later. Nellie, please read."

Nellie, pulling an ADHD moment, was throwing the book up-and-down, amusing only her.

"Nellie," Dan said. "What are you doing?"

Nellie caught the book and looked around. "Can I not throw a book while you guys talk about their love-life?"

"There are book-lovers out there who would kill you for doing that," Natalie said. "Amy, dear, is one of them." She looked at Sinead with the straightest face. "Do you think they would let me get my nails done?"

The intercom came on again. "Oh, honey," Isabel Kabra said. "Let me think about that." A chorus of about seven people joined in, singing, "NO!"

Nellie chuckled, smirking, as Natalie burned bright red. "I WANT THEM DONE NOW!"

"We'll send a Madrigal," Isabel said.

"Send a Janus," the unknown-familiar voice said. "They paint."

Natalie huffed. "No, thanks." She turned to Nellie. "Read, peasant."

"I am not a peasant, you little –"

"Nellie!" Alistair snapped. "You're the adult. Act like it."

"She started it!" she huffed.

"Well we're finishing it!" Fiske said. "Now, read."

Nellie opened the book, pouting, and began:

**Alistair Oh was just leaving customs when his enemies ambushed him.**

"I dare say, Uncle Alistair, we not enemies," Ian said.

"We were just merely trying to help," Natalie said, looking disgustedly at her nails.

Alistair Oh huffed. "And I'm 29."

"_**Bonjour, **_**Uncle." Ian Kabra appeared on his right. "Have a good flight?"**

"Finally someone sensible," Ian purred.

"Oh, who was the one who fell off Mount Everest and had to be saved by a girl?" Amy said, raising an eyebrow.

"STOP, YOU TWO; BICKERING IS BREAKING THE SHIP!" Jonah exclaimed.

**Alistair turned to his left but Natalie Kabra cut off his escape. **

"**I wouldn't try to get away, Uncle Alistair," she said sweetly. **

Dan rolled her eyes. "Nothing about that _her _is sweet."

She slammed her fist on his leg and he yelped.

"**It's amazing how many weapons I can carry through an airport."**

"How much did you pay them?" Hamilton asked.

Natalie shrugs. "Nothing that concerns your kind."

Hamilton shot to his feet and was yanked down by Jonah and Dan. The twins, however, were open.

Madison took a step towards Natalie as the Lucian pulled out her dart gun. "Go ahead, shoot me. There's only two darts and it takes three to take a Tomas down. Besides, I have a twin." Her eyes seemed to smirk as Natalie realized that Reagan had silently slipped behind her, waiting.

"You're smarter than we think," Natalie said, lowering the dart gun. Madison seemed to lose her guard and Natalie shot. Reagan put Natalie in a choke hold and dragged her off the back of the couch, gasping and kicking.

"And you're dumber than expected," Reagan growled.

She shoved her on the floor and pulled her fist back to punch her when someone shoved her. She fell off of her and saw Hamilton there, fire in his eyes.

"Both of you shut up and sit down," he growled, snatching both of them up by the collars. Madison stood woozy in the corner, blinking. "What was in the dart?" Hamilton snapped at Natalie.

Natalie glared. "Nothing lethal; just some chlorophyll to knock her out. Two would've done the trick for a couple of hours." Madison's eyes rolled in the back of her head and she hit the floor. "One for only thirty minutes."

Hamilton gathered his sister in his arms while holding the Pissed off Reagan back and walked upstairs. "COME ON, REAGAN!"

"SHE HURT MY SISTER!" Reagan screamed as she was dragged up the stairs.

"SHE'S MY SISTER TOO AND SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The room fell silent except for the Holt's screaming all the way upstairs.

"I've never heard him cuss before," Jonah said, a little shocked.

"I think I'm going to read now," Nellie said.

**She held up a china doll in a blue satin dress. Natalie was too old to be carrying something like that, but no doubt she could charm the security guards into thinking otherwise. **

"**What is that?" Alistair asked, trying to stay calm. "A gun? A bomb?"**

**Natalie smiled. "I hope you don't have to find out. It would be quite messy."**

"Aw, worried about my well-being, now are we?" Alistair taunted. He whacked her in the ankle with his cane. "That's for shooting Madison." He whacked her again. "And that's for –"

Ian snatched the cane, snapped it in half, and tossed it behind him. "That's for hitting my sister."

"**Keep walking, **_**Uncle." **_**Ian put as much sarcasm in the word as possible. "We don't want to arouse suspicion."**

"Kind of hard not to," Nellie said, flipping the page.

**They strode through the terminal. Alistair's heart pounded. **

"We scared him!" Natalie squealed with delight.

Hamilton and Reagan came down the stairs, both looking mad and annoyed and sad at the same time.

"I've never heard you cuss before," Jonah said to Hamilton.

Hamilton took a breath. "I'm under strict orders to hold my temper or I lose my rank. Just…" He bit his tongue.

Amy walked into the kitchen and brought him out a Gatorade. "Go outside and try to knock the bird's nest down."

"But the poor birdies!" Jonah said. He covered his mouth. "Never mind…"

Hamilton shook his head and went back upstairs. "Reagan…"

"I'm not going to hurt her!" she called up. Under her breath, she muttered a few words in German.

"That's nice," Ian said sarcastically.

**He could feel the **_**Poor Richard's Almanack **_**in his jacket pocket, slapping against his chest with every step.**

"**So," Alistair said. "When did you get in?"**

"**Oh, we took our own jet," Ian said. "We use a private airstrip where the security is much more… relaxed. We just thought we'd come welcome you!"**

"By trying to kill me!" Alistair grumbled.

"**How nice," Alistair said. "But I don't have anything you want."**

"**That's not what we've heard," Natalie said. "Hand over the book."**

"Oh snap," Jonah said.

There was a loud _CRACK _from upstairs. Dan stood up. "Is he ok?"

"He's…." Reagan's face went tight. "It's complicated."

"What's he talking about, 'rank'?" Jonah asked.

Reagan looked at him, her blue eyes stony. "Nothing. It's a Tomas thing."

**Alistair's throat went dry. "How… how could you possibly know –?"**

"**News travels fast," Natalie said. "We have informants –"**

"_**Natalie," **_**Ian snapped. "I'll do the talking, thank you very much. You hold the doll."**

"Such big enemies," Dan said.

**She scowled, which made her face not nearly as pretty. "I can talk if I want to, Ian! Mother and Father said –"**

"**Blast what they said! I'm in charge!"**

"Already a rebel and it's the second day," Dan said, slow clapping.

**Natalie looked ready to yell back at him, but she swallowed her rage. Alistair didn't like that tight grip she was keeping on her doll. He imagined the thing must have a trigger somewhere, and he didn't want to find out what it did.**

"What did it do?" Ted asked.

"The question is, what didn't it do?" Natalie said.

"**Surely you don't want another war between our branches," Alistair said, trying to sound diplomatic. "One phone call and I can mobilize help from Tokyo to Rio de Janeiro."**

"**As can we," Ian said. "And I've read my family history, Alistair. The last time our branches fought, it didn't go very well for your lot, did it?"**

"Ian can read?" Dan gasped.

Ian glared. "Why you pathetic little –"

Amy stomped on his foot. "One more word and I'll allow Reagan to kill your sister."

Reagan smiled evilly, pacing the kitchen. "Finally!"

**Alistair kept walking, thinking hard. A gendarme was standing by a security checkpoint up ahead – about twenty meters. If Alistair could create a distraction…**

"**The 1908 explosion in Siberia," he said to Ian. "Yes, that was impressive. But we have a lot more at stake this time."**

"**Exactly," Ian agreed. "So hand over the book, old man, before we have to hurt you."**

**Natalie laughed. "If you could hear yourself, Ian. Honestly."**

Dan snickered. "It's bad when your sister calls you out on that. It truly is."

**Her brother frowned. "Excuse me?"**

_**Five meters to the gendarme, **_**Alistair thought. **_**Stay calm.**_

"What's a gendereia?" Dan asked.

"It's a French Policeman," Amy said. "And it's gendarme."

"Oh, excuse me for not speaking French," Dan said sarcastically.

"**Oh, nothing," Natalie told her brother airily. "Just that you're a terrible bore. Without me, you couldn't even frighten this pathetic old man."**

"I'm not pathetic, am I?" Alistair asked.

Jonah shook his head. "Nope, dog."

"Do not call me a dog."

"Come on, Homie!"

"Drop it, Jonah Nathaniel Wizard."

Jonah paused. "How did you know my middle name?"

Alistair smirked. "I know your mother, Jonah."

**Ian's expression hardened. "I most certainly could, you useless little –"**

**Natalie stepped in front of Alistair, intent on confronting her brother, and Alistair saw his chance. He stepped backwards, then sideways, and before the Kabras could regroup, Alistair was standing next to the gendarme, talking as loudly as he could in French.**

"I didn't know you spoke French!" Dan said.

"What do you know?" Sinead asked.

Amy cracked a smile as people snickered. Dan blushed and folded his arms. "Not cool, Sinead."

Madison Holt came downstairs, holding her head. She looked at Reagan and sat down next to her. "Thanks."

"No problem," Reagan said.

"_**Merci, **_**niece and nephew!" he shouted at the Kabras. "But your parents will be worried. Run along now, and tell them I'll be out in a few moments. I have some questions for this officer. I may have forgotten to declare my fresh fruits in customs!"**

"Huh?" Dan, Jonah, and the twins said.

"**Fresh fruits?" the officer said. "Sir, that's very important. Come with me, please!"**

**Alistair shrugged apologetically to the Kabras. "You must excuse me."**

**Ian's eyes were so angry they looked like they might catch fire, but he managed a stiff smile.**

"That happens a lot," Natalie said.

Ian glared.

She grinned evilly. "Especially when someone says something bad about Amy."

Ian then wished he hadn't broken Alistair's cane.

"**Of course, Uncle. Don't worry. We will **_**definitely **_**catch you later. Come, Natalie." He said her name through clenched teeth. "We have to **_**talk**_**."**

"**Ow!" She yelped as he gripped her arm, but he herded her down the hallway and out of sight.**

**Alistair sighed with relief. He followed the gendarme gratefully back to customs, where after twenty minutes of questions and searching bags, Alistair realized – **_**quelle surprise! – **_**he didn't have any fresh fruit in his luggage after all. He pretended to be a confused old man, and the irritated customs official let him go.**

"You don't have to pretend," Ian said.

Alistair glared. "Go hide behind your sister."

**Back in the terminal, Alistair allowed himself a smile. Ian and Natalie Kabra may have been deadly opponents, but they were still children. Alistair would never let himself be outfoxed by youngsters like them – not when his own future and the future of his branch were at stake.**

"Nellie, why are you reading in a British Accent?" Ned asked. "Alistair's Korean."

Nellie blushed. "Because I want to, ok?"

**He patted the **_**Poor Richard's Almanack, **_**still safe in his jacket pocket. Alistair doubted any other team knew more about the thirty-nine clues than he did. After all, he'd been spying on Grace for years, learning her purpose. **

Dan growled, "Traitor."

"I am not!" Alistair defeated.

"You spied on a grandmother!"

**There was still a lot he didn't understand – secrets he hoped Grave had given to her grandchildren. **

"Obviously, she didn't," Dan snarled.

**But soon he would find out.**

**He was off to an excellent start. He now understood the true meaning of the first clue: **_**Richard S-'s RESOLUTION. **_**He had to chuckle about that. Even Amy and Dan had failed to see what it **_**really**_** meant. **

**He made his way through the terminal, keeping his eyes open for the Kabras, but they seemed to have vanished. He got outside and was dragging his bags toward the taxi stand when a purple van pulled up to the curb.**

Reagan and Madison exchanged looks.

**The side door rolled open. A cheerful male voice said, "Hey, there!"**

**The last thing Alistair OH saw was a large fist hurtling toward his face. **

Nellie looked around and tore off a piece of paper from Natalie's fashion magazine, and used it as a bookmark.

"I was going to read that!" Natalie whined.

Dan looked at Amy. "Now, the intercom! Tell me!"

Amy heard the voice ringing in her head. "Dan that was Dad."

"Dad's dead."

"No, Dan, he's not. That was his voice, I promise."

Dan seemed to get a dreamy look in his eyes and he sighed. "I don't believe you!"

The front door swung open. Everyone turned and saw two men escorting eleven year old Phoenix Wizard in.

"Hi, guys!" Phoenix said. "Why are we here?"

* * *

**GUYS! GO VOTE ON THE POLL ON MY PROFILE! I only have 2 VOTES and they're on different ones! I NEED THE VOTES OR I MIGHT IMPLODE WITH DESCISIONS!**


	11. Lil Wiz Kid

**Chapter 11**

"Phoenix!" Jonah said. "Why are you…? I thought you were in Hawaii with Aunt Leila."

"We were, but Aunt Cora called and we came back. She asked us to meet her, and then I find myself being escorted away while Mom and Aunt Cora talked. I dunno." Phoenix shrugs. "What're you guys doing?"

"Reading books about us and the clue hunt," Amy said.

"Really?!" he suddenly seemed interested. "Jonah didn't tell me much about the clue hunt just that Amy and Dan won."

Nellie handed him the book. "Read up, Lil Wizard."

Phoenix sat next to Jonah and read. After about 15 minutes, Phoenix got to chapter 11. "Ian, why would you try to threaten Alistair?"

"Because I wanted to win," Ian simply said.

Phoenix handed the book back to Nellie. "I stopped at the bookmark, so… What do you guys do, exactly?" He looked confused.

"One person reads a chapter, and we pass it around," Amy explained. "Mostly we interrupt and put our two cents in like all Cahills. You, Fiske, and Reagan are the only ones who haven't read yet."

"I'll read," Reagan said. Nellie passed her the book. "Then maybe I can beat that little Brit's head in for shooting my sister!"

"Reagan, calm down," Madison said. "I'm fine."

Hamilton came down the stairs and everyone got quiet. He spotted Phoenix and frowned. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah, Phoenix came in, bro," Jonah said. "Your sis is reading."

Hamilton sat down in his old seat, but didn't say much of anything.

"Nellie, our dear sweet Au Pair," Dan said. "I'm hungry."

She sighed. "What do you guys want?"

Orders flew everywhere, and Nellie ended up making what seemed like 3 million ham-and-cheese sandwiches.

"Should I read while we wait?" Reagan Holt offered, opening the book.

"Please, bore us to death by your slow first grade reading," Natalie Kabra said.

Reagan closed the book. "Listen here, you –"

"Reagan," Alistair snapped. "Natalie – both of you stop it or I will lock both of you in your rooms."

The two girls rolled their eyes and muttered a "Yes, sir." Reagan opened the book and began:

**After getting through customs at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Amy felt like she'd just lost a fight with a tornado. **

**She'd endured eight hours on the plane, wedged between Dan and Nellie, who both kept their headphone volume up too loud. **

"Not possible," Nellie called from the kitchen.

**Dan watched movies. Nellie listened to music and flipped through French cookbooks with full-color pictures of snails and goose livers. **

Natalie gagged. Dan smirked from his iPhone and began typing something in on Safari. Then he thrust it in Natalie's face. Her eyes went huge and she turned a bad shade of green. Shoving Dan's arm out of the way, she sprinted to the bathroom.

"Weak stomach," Jonah said.

**Meanwhile, Amy tried to make herself small and read her own books. She'd picked up six new ones in Philadelphia, but she only managed to finish one Benjamin Franklin biography and two Paris guidebooks. **

"That's just so little!" Ian said sarcastically.

"THE SHIP!" Jonah cried. "WE'RE SINKING!"

"Huh?" Phoenix asked.

"We ship Amian," Jonah explained. "Do you know what shipping is?"

Phoenix stared at him blankly.

"Dear boy! Shipping is where you wish two people will be in a relationship. In this case, everyone in this room ships Amian, or Amy and Ian, and we want them to have little reddish-brown headed Kabra kids who have a British accent and love to read."

"Almost everyone ships it," Amy said.

"She does somewhere in her heart," Jonah said, shooting her a cold, glaring look. "Think of it as, we would all back Ian up if he wanted to ask Amy out."

All heads turned at Ian, who was blushing.

"Oh, so that's why there are Tumblr pages everywhere about Amian!" Phoenix says. "That makes sense!"

"There are?" Amy gasped.

Natalie came out of the bathroom. "Amy, me and Dan run one." Dan grins evilly. "You're my OTP."

"OTwhat?" Ian says.

"One True Pairing," Dan explains.

Ian grows paler. "I seriously need to get out."

"Me too," Amy says.

"DATE NIGHT!" Nellie squeals from the kitchen.

"Read, Reagan," Ian grumbles.

**For her, that was terrible. Every muscle in her body ached. Her hair was a rat's nest. Her clothes smelled like airplane lasagna, which Dan had spilled mid-flight. **

Natalie grimaced. "Peasant food…"

**Worst of all,**

"What's worse than that?" Natalie asked.

**she hadn't gotten any sleep, because the more she read, the more an idea had started to form in her head about Franklin and Paris – and the idea scared her. **

**In the customs line, she was sure she was going to lose it when the official asked about her parents, but she muttered the lie Dan and she had rehearsed – that their parents were coming over on a later flight.**

"Or that they're still alive and talking through an intercom!" Dan snapped a little louder than intended, to no one particular. He glared at the ceiling, but there was no response.

**Nellie's presence seemed to reassure the official, especially when Nellie started answering his questions in French. The official nodded, stamped their passports, and let them through. **

"**Nellie!" Dan said. "You speak **_**French?" **_

"Lunch is ready!" Nellie called.

"You aren't going to bring it to us?" Dan called back.

Nellie stepped out, hands on her hips. "Do I look like your waitress? Get up and go get it yourself." She walked to her seat in the floor and ate hers. Everyone filed in the kitchen, grabbed a sandwich and cleared out three family bag sized of chips, and then sat back down.

With a mouth full of sandwich, Reagan read out of the corner of her mouth:

"**Duh. My mom taught French. She was, like, French."**

"**I thought your family was from Mexico City."**

"**That's my dad. I grew up trilingual."**

"**That's amazing," Amy said. She was really jealous. She wished she knew other languages, but she was hopeless at learning them. **

"Ian knows German," Natalie blurted.

Jonah shrugged. "Still not trilingual!"

**She couldn't even remember the colors and numbers from kindergarten Spanish. **

"**It's no big deal," Nellie assured them. "Once you know two languages, learning three or four or five is easy."**

"Just five languages," Dan said. "No biggy."

**Amy wasn't sure if she was serious, but they kept going through customs. They reclaimed their bags, changed their dollars into euros at a kiosk, and straggled onto the main concourse. **

**Amy felt completely lost with all the French signs. Morning light slanted through the windows, though it felt like midnight to her. Down the hall, a crowd was gathering. **

Jonah smiled. "Yay, me!"

**People were flashing cameras and shouting questions at somebody Amy couldn't see. **

"**Oh, paparazzi!" Nellie said. "Maybe it's, like, Kanye West!"**

"UGH!" Jonah groaned. "No, no Nellie; don't call me Kanye West. No, shunned."

"Huh?" Nellie said.

"Shunned! Away from my sight, peasant!"

"Drama queen," Nellie grumbled. "Now that I know you, I don't care for your music anymore. You're shunned from my iPod."

Jonah looked hurt, but Phoenix nodded in agreement behind his back. Nellie snickered.

"**Wait!" Amy said, but Nellie wasn't going to be discouraged. They pushed through the crowd with a lot of **_**excusez-mois. **_**As they got closer, Amy stopped in her tracks. "Jonah Wizard."**

"BOOM!" Jonah said, grinning. "Everyone loves Jonah."

"No, everyone loves popcorn," Dan corrected. He smirked at Natalie. "AND GOOSE LIVERS!"

Natalie glared and stood. Stomping on his foot, she stormed away.

"Good the witch is gone," Reagan said. She looked back down at the book.

**He was wading through the mob, signing autographs, while his dad trailed behind like a bodyguard. Jonah wore baggy jeans, a black leather jacket over a white tank top, and his standard half ton of silver jewelry. He looked fresh and well-rested, like his flight had been a lot better than Amy's. **

"Well of course it was," Jonah said. "I have a private jet."

"_**Le Wizard!" **_**The reporters peppered him with questions. To Amy's surprise, Jonah answered them in French.**

"Everyone speaks languages except me and Amy!" Dan exclaimed.

"And me," Madison says. "Reagan takes French."

"Only because I have to," Reagan grumbled.

**There were so many people Amy wanted to melt into the walls, but Jonah looked relaxed. He gave the crowd a brilliant smile and said something that made them laugh, then scanned the faces and locked eyes with Amy. **

"**Yo!" he called. "My peeps!"**

"We're not little fluffy marshmallow chickens that you get at Easter," Dan said.

**Amy was mortified. **

"Geez, love you too," he said sarcastically.

Amy's cheeks were burning red.

**Jonah started pushing his way toward them and the whole crowd turned to figure out who he was talking to.**

"**Oh, no way," Nellie said. "You **_**know **_**Jonah Wizard?"**

"Don't talk about me, Shun," Jonah said.

"Excuse me, little boy, I will hurt you," Nellie said.

"Oh, I'm excused. Ah-choo, bless me."

Nellie lurched forward a little. He yelped and jumped into Phoenix.

"**We're related to him," Dan grumbled. "Distantly."**

**Nellie looked like she was going to faint.**

"Oh, does shun like me now?" Jonah asked.

Nellie threw _One False Note _at him.

**Suddenly, Jonah was right in front of them, shaking Amy's hand and patting Dan on the back and signing Nellie's T-shirt, and the cameras started taking pictures of **_**them. **_

"Nellie, do you still have that shirt?" Jonah said.

She shook her head.

Jonah grabbed his crutches and hobbled over to the kitchen.

_**Don't look at me! **_**Amy wanted to scream. **_**I'm covered with lasagna! **_**Her voice wouldn't work. She tried to walk away but her legs were frozen. **

"**Jonah!" his father said. "We should get going."**

Silently, Jonah came back. Sneaking up behind an unknowing Nellie, he uncapped the Sharpie and signed her shirt. Nellie jumped.

"JONAH!" she screamed. "THIS IS MY GREEN DAY SHIRT!"

He laughed and hobbled back to his seat. She tackled him, broken leg and all, and snatched the Sharpie from his hand. He screamed in pain, holding his leg. Nellie uncapped the Sharpie and drew a moustache on his face. Then she rolled away and got back in her seat. Jonah lay in the floor, whimpering over his leg.

"Jonah?" Hamilton called.

Jonah tried to move his leg and yelped. Nellie went pale. "Jonah? You ok?"

He groaned in pain.

"HEY! CORA! YOUR SON IS HURT!" Reagan yelled.

He laid there for a few minutes until two men in the black suits came in with a stretcher. They lifted Jonah on it and carried him out.

"I'm sorry, Jonah!" Nellie called, looking like she just clubbed a baby seal.

He held up his hand, giving thumbs up, groaning.

"Should we keep reading?" Reagan asked.

Nellie nodded sadly.

"**Yeah, sure." Jonah winked at Amy. **

"Why was he winking at Ian's woman?" Ned said. Everyone turned. They had forgotten the Starlings were there.

"**Come with, cuz. We got stuff to talk about."**

**Jonah's dad started to protest, but Jonah put his arm around Amy**

Ian frowned.

**and steered her through the terminal, with Dan and Nellie and a mob of frantic paparazzi behind them, flashing pictures. Amy was sure she would die from embarrassment any second, but somehow they made it outside. The day was warm and overcast. Storm clouds were gathering on the horizon. A black limousine waited at the curb.**

"**We – we shouldn't," Amy started to protest. She remembered Mr. McIntyre's warning: **_**Trust No One.**_

"Have any of you read that Fanfic?" Natalie asked, walking back in with her phone, scrolling. "It's about us. I'm not in it, but it's pretty good. About some guy named Evan Tolliver being a Vesper, and there's Amian, but the author won't update. Something about her being tired." She rolled her eyes. "Americans."

Amy had gone pale. "Evan Tolliver?"

Dan made kissy noises. "Oh, Evan, I wuv you!"

Amy shot him a look. "Shut up!"

"Who's Evan?" Ian asked.

"He's a friend from school," Amy said.

Dan leaned forward. "He said he liked her sweater, and she hasn't washed it since."

"That's cute!" Natalie squealed.

"That's disgusting," Reagan grumbled.

Amy had her head down, blushing. "Read please."

"No, I want to know about this little prick," Ian said.

Natalie and Dan exchanged looks. Natalie and Dan sat on either side of Ian, pulling up pages on their phones.

"He's in chess club AND is president of his class," Dan said.

"Amy's Vice President," Natalie said.

"He's a ginger and wears glasses."

"And his CliqueMe relationship status is "In a Relationship with Amy Cahill.""

Ian had his lips tight, a little annoyed. "Oh."

"And weren't you supposed to be visiting Amy?" Natalie said.

Amy ran out of the room.

"You guys are mean," Sinead said.

Dan shrugged.

"**Are you kidding?" Nellie said. "A limo ride with Jonah Wizard? Come on!" She practically dove into the limo. A few minutes later they were gliding down **_**l'autoroute de l'est **_**toward the heart of Paris. **

"Nice French, Holt," Ian said.

"Thanks, Cobra," she said, and she kept reading:

"**Man, I love this town," Jonah said.**

"The chapters about him, and I break his leg again," Nellie grumbled, folding her arms.

"It was an accident," Hamilton said.

She ignored him, beating herself up inside.

**His limo had facing back seats. Jonah and his dad sat on one side. Amy, Dan, and Nellie sat on the other. Jonah's dad typed notes on his BlackBerry, every once in a while glancing up and scowling at Amy, like he couldn't believe she was still there.**

"Yes, we're going to fly out the window," Dan said.

**Outside, rows of gold stone buildings glided by, their windows overflowing with flower boxes. The cafes were crowded with people, all the chairs facing the street like they were waiting for a parade. **

"I don't get Paris," Hamilton said. "Too… peppy."

The twins nodded.

**The air smelled like coffee and baked bread.**

Natalie smiled. "Ah, coffee."

**The cloudy skies gave everything a weird light – as if the city wasn't quite real.**

"Plastic," Sinead grumbles.

"The Ekats made plastic surgery," Hamilton smirked.

She frowned. "Was I asking you, Holt?"

"Actually, somewhere in that big brain of yours, you probably were."

"I know my brains big, but yours is a peanut."

"Like an elephant, so I won't forget." He paused. "Wait…"

Dan face palmed. "Ham…"

"That's Haminator, Mr. Cahill."

"**You know my TV ratings here are even better than in the States?" Jonah said.**

"No," Ian grumbled, picking cat fur off of his brand new black button up and that bloody cat had to ruin EVERYTHING.

"**Eighteen points higher," his dad piped in. **

"Just to be exact," Natalie shrugged. "Ian, stop being a prick! You're getting cat hair on me!"

"That bloody cat is being a pest!" he said. Finally he just stood up. "FORGET IT I'LL GET A NEW BLOODY SHIRT!"

He stormed upstairs as Natalie tried to wipe off cat hairs. Ian came back down in a white button up and the same khaki pants. He threw the black shirt at Saladin. "Keep it."

Saladin grabbed the shirt with his teeth and pulled it away.

"Ian, I think Saladin has a man-crush on you," Dan said. "Or he might like your shirt."

"Please the shirt," Ian said.

Natalie grinned evilly. "He's playing hard to get; no wonder he aggravates you so much!"

The room erupted in snickers, and Ian was blushing.

Then Madison gasped. "Amy! Your cat's trying to steal your man!"

Amy and Ian were red as beats as everyone laughed.

"**And my new album, **_**Gangsta Life, **_**is number three in French charts."**

"**Number two," his dad said. "And climbing." **

"**Oh, wow, I love your album!" Nellie said.**

"**Thanks," Jonah said. "Now shut up."**

Nellie frowned. "Little runt, I'm glad I broke his leg again!" She folded her arms and looked away.

Phoenix looked at her. "You are?"

"I'm not sure yet."

**Nellie looked like she'd been slapped.**

"All of his songs were deleted off my iPod after that," Nellie said.

Dan rolled his eyes. "You're such a drama queen."

"So?" she said.

"**Hey!" Dan cried. "That's not cool!"**

"**What?" Jonah said. "She's not a Cahill. I'm not talking to her." **

"You guys sound very childish," Alistair said.

"So?!" Nellie stuck out her tongue.

"So, you are the adult."

"I'm still in my twenties."

**Amy was so shocked she couldn't respond, but Jonah kept right on bragging.**

"When is he not?" Hamilton said.

"**Like I was saying, I own this town. My art gallery opened last week on Rue de la Paix. My watercolors are selling for six thousands euros a piece. I've even got a children's book coming out."**

**His dad whipped out a copy and showed them.**

"Now that's a waste of money," Ted said, frowning.

**Dan squinted as he read the cover. **_**"Le… Li'l Gangsta Livre Instantane?"**_

"**It means 'little gangster pop-up book,'" Jonah's dad said proudly. **

"Really proud of that book," Madison said.

"Besides, Mummy has an art gallery…" Natalie said. She cleared her throat. "But… Janus's paint much better than Lucian's, though Lucian's spend better…"

**Jonah spread his hands. "See what I mean? I'm more popular than" – he smiled slyly – "Benjamin Franklin."**

"No," Dan said. "Basically, Ian Kabra _is _Benjamin Franklin."

Ian smiled. "Why, that's the nicest thing you ever said. I _am _pretty important."

Natalie swatted Dan. "IDIOT! HIS HEAD DOESN'T NEED TO BE ANY BIGGER!"

Dan held his ears. "I think my ears are bleeding."

**Something inside Amy snapped. She'd spent several hours reading about Benjamin Franklin, and she was more convinced than ever that he was the most amazing person who ever lived.**

Ian scoffed. "I _am _the most amazing person ever," he sighed dreamily.

**To think she might be related to him made her so proud. Now to hear this conceited TV star jerk compare himself… **

"I know, so conceited to compare to me," Ian continue, and Natalie popped him in the back of the head.

**She was so angry she forgot to be shy. "B-Benjamin Franklin was way more important that you, Jonah! He was the most famous American to ever visit Paris. When he came here, people wore his picture on necklaces –"**

"**Like this?" Jonah pulled out a Jonah Wizard commemorative photo necklace.**

"A locket?" Hamilton asked.

"No!" everyone said.

"**And… and they wore clothes like his!" **

"**Uh-huh. The Jonah Wizard fashion line is doing great on the Champs-Elysees." **

**Amy gritted her teeth. "King Louis XVI even put Franklin's picture on a chamber pot!"**

**Jonah looked at his dad. "Do we have souvenir chamber pots?"**

"**No." His dad whipped out his phone. "I'll make a call."**

Dan laid a hand on Amy's shoulder. "It was a good try, Amy. A great try, but it was 3-0, Jonah."

She shrugged. "I don't mind."

"My face was on a chamber pot?" Ian said, touching his face.

"OH MY GOSH IAN!" Natalie squealed.

**Jonah nodded. "So you see, guys, I **_**am **_**the biggest thing since Franklin, which is why **_**I'm **_**the natural person to find his secrets."**

"Or, maybe a Lucian?" Natalie said.

"**If your head was any bigger," Dan muttered, "we could use it as a hot air balloon."**

"There are two of those here," Natalie said, pursing her lips.

Ian didn't catch that comment.

**Jonah ignored him. "Look, Amy, you're a smart girl. You know the family's got branches, right? Good Cahills. Bad Cahills. I'm –"**

"**Jonah!" His father covered his phone with his hand. "I thought we discussed –"**

"**Dad, chill. All I'm saying: I use **_**my **_**talents to create **_**art. **_**Whatever the final treasure is? I'll use it to bring more beauty to the world! I'm not like those Lucians, man! They're vicious!"**

"I'm going to rip his bloody head off," Ian said.

"Yes! Someone who agrees!" Nellie says.

**Amy's mind was racing. "But… Benjamin Franklin was a Lucian. We saw the snake crest –"**

"**Okay, so occasionally a Lucian did something right." **

Natalie frowned. "Count me in. I'll put make up on his ripped off head."

**Jonah waved his hand dismissively. "But today **_**I'm **_**the good guy. You gotta see that, Amy."**

"Is he flirting with Amy?" Reagan asked.

Hamilton threw his hands up. "First Ian, then Jonah –"

"There was one point when you kind of liked her," Madison reminded her.

"True! What is it with everyone in love with Amy?!"

Amy blinked. "You liked me?"

Hamilton shrugged. "Eh, at one point. But that's off subject. Every guy here seems to have been in love with you – well, except Dan."

"Ew," Dan said.

"He has a point," Sinead said. "Ned? Ted?"

There was silence from the brothers.

**Dan snorted. "Because you make gangster pop-up books?"**

"**Exactly! Look, you think it was easy for me growing up rich and famous in Beverly Hills?" Jonah paused. "Actually, it was easy. The point is I work hard to stay that way. Fame is something you gotta keep building, baby. Am I right, dad?"**

"**You're right, son!"**

Dan frowned. _His _dad wasn't there to tell him he was right. His father was watching him with cameras, so that Amy thought.

_Yeah, right._

"**I already go albums and TV and fashion and books… so where do I go for up? I'll tell you where. I **_**need **_**to win this contest. **

"Yes, and we were poor!" Dan said. "Disowned! Stuck with Nellie!"

"Hey!" Nellie said.

**It's a smart career move! If we work together, I'll cut you in for a percentage."**

"**Uncle Alistair offered to help us, too," Amy grumbled. "That didn't work out."**

**Jonah snorted. "Alistair Oh? That old fool probably told you how he invented microwave burritos, huh?"**

Alistair frowned. "We should make a Hate Jonah Wizard Club."

Nellie smiled. "It's getting bigger!"

**Bet he didn't tell you he lost his fortune on bad investments. He's nearly broke, girl. He should've taken the million bucks and walked, but he's got some crazy idea the thirty-nine clues are gonna restore his reputation. Don't listen to him.**

Alistair's face seemed to fall.

**You join me, we can beat everybody. We can even show those backstabbers, Ian and Natalie.**

Both Lucian's frowned and looked at Phoenix. "It'll be a shame for your loss," Ian says.

**You gotta be careful around her, Amy. Paris is a Lucian stronghold, you know. Has been for centuries."**

"**Jonah," his dad said, "you should **_**not **_**be dealing with these people. They have no star power and they're going to drag down your ratings."**

Dan frowned. "Geez, some cousin's dad he is."

"**Chamber pots, Dad. I'll handle this." He gave Amy his most dazzling smile.**

"Flirt," the Holt twins said.

"**Come on, girl. We both know the next clue is about Ben Franklin. We could help each other."**

**What bothered her wasn't that Jonah was an arrogant jerk. What bothered her was that she was tempted by his offer, anyway.**

All eyes fell on Amy. She blushed.

**The idea of showing up Natalie and Ian was hard to resist.**

"Well, Nat, I guess we're just the red-headed step-children," Ian said.

"I don't want to be a ginger!" Natalie whined. She folded her arms. "They hate us… We lost both our parents, and our fortune, yet they hate us."

There was a pause. Dan was the first one to notice. "Are you tearing up?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "No. You wouldn't care if I was lying in a gutter dead anyways, would you?" And with that, she stormed out.

"I didn't mean it like that…" Dan said.

"Well, she has a point," Ian said. But he kept sitting, his amber eyes knowing things no fourteen year old boy should know or worry about, seeing things that most adults will never encounter. It was… depressing.

Amy wished she could give him a hug.

**And she couldn't help feeling flattered that somebody like Jonah Wizard was paying attention to her. Still… she remembered the way he'd talked to Nellie, and how nice he'd been at the airport, but it had all been an act, like they were just stage props for the cameras. **

"**Why… why do you want to make a deal with us?" she asked hesitantly. "What makes us so special?"**

_Green eyes, _Ian thought. _Smart, kind of funny, beautiful… _

"**Nothing!" Jonah laughed. **

_Lies, _Ian thought spitefully.

"**Isn't that awesome? You're part of the Cahill clan, but you have no talent at all! Me, if I try to sneak into someplace to check out a clue, I'll have the media following me, people shooting my picture and asking me for interviews. I can't do anything in secret. **

"Can he use the bathroom?" Hamilton wondered aloud.

"I doubt it," Ned said. "He probably has a window in it, being rich and all, and paparazzi probably flood it."

"Ew," Reagan said. Then she continued:

**You – you're so unimportant, you can go places I can't. Nobody cares about you."**

_I do, _Ian thought. _Mostly to Amy, though. _

"**Thanks a lot," Dan grumbled.**

"**What'd I say?" Jonah looked baffled. "Hey if it's the money, I got plenty of that. I can even throw in a day on the set of **_**Who Wants to Be a Gangsta? **_**You can't do better than that."**

"Really?" Dan rolled his eyes. "He forgot watching a volleyball game."

"Hey!" Ted said, smiling.

"I prefer softball players," Hamilton said.

"Of course you would," Ian said, rolling his eyes.

"They can handle the ball, huh?" Dan snickered.

"YOU GUYS ARE PREVERTED!" Natalie called from the kitchen.

"**No thanks," Amy and Dan said together.**

"**Aw, c'mon. Just think about it, will you? Where's your hotel? I'll drop you off."**

"Stalker alert," Madison said.

**Amy was about to make something up when she glanced out the window. **

"Plot twist," Phoenix said, playing on his phone.

**What she saw made her blood turn to ice.**

"But you'd be dead," Sinead said, frowning.

**It was impossible. What was **_**she **_**doing here? And was she really carrying…**

"**Right here!" she said. "Pull over, please!"**

"At least I said please," Amy said.

**The driver did. **

**Jonah looked out the window and frowned. They were parked next to a seedy-looking hotel called Maison des Gardons. The awning was tattered and the doorman looked like a wino. **

"What is that?" Ian asked, still annoyed.

"A drunk," Phoenix says. "Usually does with wine."

"Point for Janus," Hamilton says, raising Phoenix's arm.

"**Here, huh?" Jonah said. "Man, you guys like to rough it. Me, I'm staying at the Ritz. If you change your mind, you know where to find me."**

"Like the cracker?!" Madison smiled. "I like those."

Hamilton face palmed. "Wow, Sis."

"Me, too!" Reagan smiled.

"Crackers? Where?" Phoenix looked up, confused.

"There aren't any crackers!" Amy said.

"I want some crackers…" Sinead said.

"Not helping!"

**Amy dragged Nellie and Dan out of the car. The driver tossed out their bags, and the Wizards' limo glided away.**

"**What a creep!" Nellie said.**

"CREEPIN'!" Dan sang. "JUST A CREEPIN' CREEPIN'."

"Oh, god, it's the kill the puppies music," Ian growled.

"**He isn't like that on TV!"**

"You actually watched that?" Ned said.

Nellie blushed.

**Dan looked up at the Maison des Gardons. "Don't tell me we're actually staying here."**

"Better than Aunt Beatrice," Amy shrugged.

Hamilton flinched.

"**I had to get him to stop the car," Amy said. "Nellie, get us rooms for the night."**

"**Here?" she protested. "But –"**

"**It says 'gardens' in the title. How bad can it be?"**

"Roaches," Nellie shuddered. "Roaches everywhere."

"**Um, it doesn't say –"**

"**Just do it, please!" Amy felt weird acting so bossy, but she didn't have time to argue. "We'll meet you back here in… I don't know, two hours."**

"OH MY GOSH AMY SAID SHE DIDN'T KNOW!" Dan fell off the couch holding his head in a shocked expression. "I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET ANYMORE!"

"**Why?" Dan said. "Where are we going?" **

"Alas, there's Dan again, confused," Amy retorted, smirking.

"**I just saw an old friend," Amy said. "Come on!"**

**She dragged him across the street, hoping they weren't too late. With relief, she spotted her target. "There!" she pointed. "In the red!"**

"She played you two like… isn't the saying 'like a fiddle'? What's a fiddle?" Ian asked.

"What did your mother teach you?!" Phoenix asked, his eyes wide.

"To murder, steal, shoot, poison, escape… Shall I go on?"

**Half a block down, a woman in a red shawl was walking briskly. Something was tucked under her arm – something thin, square, red, and white.**

**Dan's eyes widened. "Isn't that –"**

"**Irina Spasky," Amy said. "And she's got out **_**Poor Richard's Almanack. **_**Follow that Russian!" **

Reagan put the bookmark in and laid it on the table. "Who's next?"

A hand reached out. "I am, my dear Watson."

* * *

**_VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE! FROM NOW ON, YOU GUYS CHOOSE WHO READS! _**

**_Last time..._**

**_Reagan - 10_**

**_Fiske - 4_**

**_Unidentified Person/Phoenix - 4_**


	12. The Button War

**Chapter 12**

_**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to BookWorm4Life105! CALLING ALL CAHILL'S! GO READ HER STORY 'A Cahill Reunion'! AND PLEASE REVIEW! She's awesome! :D**_

_**And guys one more thing before I allow you to get on with the story: To VOTE, go on my profile and once I post a new chapter, I'll change the polls to the next chapter. Phoenix is the only one who hasn't read, so he'll read next time. NO VOTES FOR CHAPTER 13. THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT! Yes, I saw a lot of votes for Alistair on the reviews, but, sadly, I don't have time to tally up ALL the votes in the reviews. So guys, please help me out and vote on the poll. No being a member, it's an open poll. One choice, yada yada. And I've been sick, so that's why there aren't many updates. Bleh. So, now that that's out of my system, how 'bout a little 'fun', shall we?**_

Cora Wizard frowned at the screen.

Nellie-Gomez-non-Cahill-little-brat had broken her son's leg. Not that she cared about Jonah… But still, she had brought pain against herself to bring him into this world.

Isabel was smiling wickedly as Jonah screamed in pain.

Nellie Gomez…

Cora picked up her cell phone and walked out into the kitchen of the Kabra Manor. She dialed a number. "Yes, Frank? We have a situation…"

* * *

Everyone paused when Fiske picked up the book.

"You're going to read?" Dan asked.

"Well its high-and-time I do," Fiske shrugged.

Natalie walked back in, her face frowning. "The more important question, I dare say, is that Fiske is a Sherlock fan?"

Fiske shook his head. "No, I am not; but, it seemed right at the time."

He picked up the book. "Chapter 12."

**Dan was tempted to stop about twenty times as they trailed Irina Spasky down the Rue de Rivoli.**

"Ravioli?" Reagan asked, confused.

**(He wondered if that meant "the Street of Ravioli," but he decided Amy would laugh at him if he asked.)**

Reagan blushed a shade of the _Sword Thief. _

**A few times he wanted to check stuff out – like the cool glass pyramid at the Louvre and the street performers who were juggling fire outside the Tuileries garden.**

"I wish Irina was here…" Amy said.

"No, you really don't," Ian replied.

"Why not?" Amy asked, frowning.

"Because, she would slit your throats with one slice. Besides, she's my godmother."

"OH MY GOSH YOU'RE A SPASKY!" a squeal came from the door. Jonah Wizard was being carried in on a stretcher, his leg newly bandaged, but he was smiling.

"JONAH!" Phoenix grinned.

The men carried Jonah upstairs, grumbling about all of his 'chains' being heavy.

"Neck strength, man," Jonah said. "Guys!" he called. "They put me on some pain meds…" The guards set him on the floor and pulled out a syringe. Putting it in his arms, they squirted him with… something. Jonah was silent for a while until he started giggling. "You're pretty…" he told Natalie, giggling and loopy as they walked by.

Natalie's jaw dropped. "Ew."

"Ekat formula," Sinead said. "Smart move."

"Alrighty then!" Dan said, clapping his hands. "Please read."

**There was also a vendor selling crème glacee, and Dan was pretty sure that meant ice cream. Mostly, though, he wanted to stop because his feet hurt. **

The men were coming back down, but they seemed to look at Nellie with a warning look in their eyes. Then they left.

"Cora's ticked," Ian said.

"How do you –"

"Trust me."

"I don't trust snakes," Nellie folded her arms.

"Don't worry; I won't care if you die."

"**Is she ever going to take a break?" he complained.**

"Do Lucians kill?" Natalie said, rolling her eyes. But Dan noticed she was glancing at the stairs a lot.

He inwardly frowned. Jonah was too old for Natalie.

**Amy didn't seem to be getting tired at all. "Does it seem odd to you that we happened to find Irina Spasky out of ten million people in Paris?"**

"**Maybe the 99.9 million aren't wearing bright red scarves!" **

"Scarves are _sooo _itchy," Natalie said.

Every girl in the room seemed to freeze.

Did Natalie Kabra just say that?

"You've been spending too much time with Dan, Kiddo," Nellie said.

Natalie blushed.

"**She was walking down a major street, like she wanted to be spotted."**

"**You think it's a trap?" Dan asked. "How could she know we'd find her? And she hasn't looked back once. She doesn't know we're here."**

Ian sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Are you ok?" Amy asked. "You seem… ill."

Ian yawned and shrugged. "I'm fine." But he propped his hand up on his arm and closed his eyes.

**But as he said that, Dan remembered television shows he'd seen about spies – how they could tail somebody without ever being seen, or appear "accidentally" in the victim's line of sight and lure them into a trap. Could Irina have been waiting for them at the airport? Could she have seen them get in the limo with Jonah and somehow gotten ahead of them?**

Fiske paused. Everyone paused too.

"Fiske, why are you paused?" Hamilton asked.

"I'm waiting for Ian's sarcastic remark," Fiske said.

Amy poked Ian. "Ian."

Ian let out a slight snore and he shifted, folding his arms and laying his head on the arm of the couch.

"He's… asleep!" Natalie grinned. "Without Mr. Buttons!"

"Mr. Buttons?" Hamilton and Dan asked.

"Oh, Mr. Buttons…" Ian mumbled in his sleep.

Amy giggled. "A teddy bear?"

Natalie nodded. "It's upstairs."

"Oh, Wubzy!" Jonah's voice came from upstairs.

"Wubzy?" Dan asked.

Natalie cracked up. "He has Mr. Buttons!"

Natalie and Dan, grinning wickedly, ran upstairs. Finding Jonah snuggled up with the one eyed quiet-used Mr. Buttons, camera phones were whipped out and pictures were taken. Creeping down stairs, Natalie gently shook Ian's shoulder. "Ian," she said.

He didn't respond, just a little "Ugh, go away," and a shift.

"Jonah has Mr. Buttons," Dan said.

Ian's eyes shot open. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, Spasky," Sinead said, grinning.

Ian marched upstairs.

"GIVE ME BACK MY BEAR!" they heard Ian scream from upstairs.

"IT'S MINE!" Jonah yelled back.

"MINE!"

There was a crash and silence.

"He killed him!" Nellie whispered. "Not my fault."

"YOU BEAR MURDERER!" Ian yelled.

"YOU DID IT!" Jonah yelled back.

"DID NOT!"

Natalie sighed. "Come on, Phoenix. We must go separate this foolishness."

The two walked up and Natalie came down with Ian who was holding a ripped-in-half bear. Stuffing was falling, along with Ian's broken heart. Phoenix followed, shaking his head.

Sinead stood. "Where's the other half? I'll sew it back up."

Ian looked at the stairs. "He has it."

Sinead went upstairs and brought back the bear with a needle and brown string. "Fiske, please read."

Fiske cleared his throat and continued:

"**Look," Amy said, "she's turning!"**

**Irina crossed the avenue and disappeared down a flight of steps. **

"**The Metro," Amy said. "She's taking the subway."**

Natalie looked horrified. "That is disgusting!"

"_There's _the Natalie I know!" Nellie said.

**They lost time trying to figure out how to use euro coins in the machines to get tickets, but when they got down the steps Irina was still there – standing on one of the platforms with the tattered almanac tucked under her arm. **

"Is he going to make it?" Ian asked.

Sinead froze. "Ian, it's a stuffed animal. Yes."

Ian seemed relieved.

**The train was arriving. Dan was sure Irina was going to do one of those last-minute switches, so they waited until the train doors were closing, but Irina stayed on board. Amy and Dan jumped on, too, and the train pulled away from the station.**

**They changed trains twice in a really short time. Even with Irina in a bright red shawl, it was hard to keep up with her.**

"Well? Isn't it obvious? She was trying to get you two lost in the tunnels and get away from Nellie," Natalie said. She scrolled down on her iPhone. "Oh, and Amy dear, Evan says hello."

Amy's eyes lit up. "He did?! Wait, how did you…?"

"Your password should _never _be your birthday." Natalie held up Amy's phone.

Dan grinned. "Thanks!" He grabbed Amy's phone and ran. Natalie chased him. In the end, Dan had a bloodied lip and Natalie had a broken nail.

"Idiot…" Natalie grumbled. She rubbed her finger. "I've spent good money on these!"

"Oh, cry me a river." Dan stuck out his tongue. Natalie frowned.

"**I don't get it," Amy said. "Now she's moving faster, like she's trying to **_**lose **_**us."**

"So, she was trying to leave two kids in Metro?" Phoenix asked.

"You've never met Irina," Alistair said.

"I might be glad I didn't…"

**Dan was daydreaming about crème glacee. The lasagna he'd had on the plane was long gone, and his stomach felt like it was trying to chew through his shirt. **

**Finally, after the third train, Irina exited onto the platform. Amy gripped Dan's arm and pointed to a sign on the station. **

"**Passy," she said.**

"Excuse me?" Alistair said, looking horrified. "There are children here!"

"_Passy, _Alistair," Fiske said.

"You, my uncle, have one dirty mind," Hamilton said.

Alistair flushed.

"**So?"**

"**This is the neighborhood where Benjamin Franklin lived."**

"**Well, come on!" Dan said. "Red Riding Hood's getting away!"**

"Yes, except she's the wolf," Ian said.

"Ian, she gave her life for us," Amy said.

"That doesn't mean I like her."

Amy rolled her eyes. Natalie frowned.

"My OTP is crumbling," she whispered to Dan.

**Passy didn't seem as crowded as Tuileries. The streets were lined with four-story buildings. There were flower shops everywhere, like a Mother's Day explosion – tulips, carnations, roses, everything that could possibly make Dan sneeze. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower rose against the gray clouds, but Dan was more interested in the smell of food. **

"Mmm, food," Nellie sighed.

**The whole city seemed to be made up of outdoor cafes. He could smell chocolate, fresh-baked bread, melting cheese – but Dan didn't have time to get any of it.**

**Irina walked like her dress was on fire. They had to jog to keep up. Amy tripped over a bucket of flowers, and a Parisian cursed at her.**

"**Sorry!" Amy called back.**

**They turned onto a tree-lined street with ancient looking mansions. Halfway up the block, a purple van was parked crookedly. **

The twins shot a look at Hamilton. "_You _drove."

"Did not!" Hamilton folded his arms, pouting. "Plus Dad parked…"

**It was painted with pictures of balloons and clown faces, and the sign read CRÈME GLACEE. **

"Sounds like a kidnappers van," Natalie said, buffing her nails. "Plus, clowns are creepy."

**Dan's spirits lifted. Maybe he could just grab a quick triple-scoop of cherry-vanilla to go. But as they got closer, he saw that the van was shut. The windshield was covered from the inside with a silver screen. It was a conspiracy, Dan decided. The entire city of Paris was trying to starve him.**

"Maybe the Cahill's might too," Natalie said, studying her nails. "_These _are worth more than your face!"

"My face is priceless," Dan smarted.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Your lip is bloody."

"So?" He wiped his lip, frowning.

**At the end of the block, Irina crossed the street and ducked inside a wrought-iron gate. She walked up to a large marble building that looked like an embassy or something. Dan hid behind a gate post and watched as Irina punched a security code and went inside. **

"**Look at the gate," Amy said.**

**In the center was a gold-lettered sign that read:**

_**[Lucian Symbol] INSTITUT DE DIPLOMATIE INTERNATIONALE**_

_**INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY **_

_**[Japanese Letters My Laptop Won't Type]**_

"So _you _were the ones who broke into our stronghold!" Natalie realized.

Ian just shook his head, disappointed in his sisters blond moments.

"**The Lucian crest!" Dan said. "But what's an institute for, um, whatever that means?"**

Heads turned at Ian. He looked up from his phone, confused. "What? I know I'm the next heir for the leadership, but I have no idea."

"**I guess it's like a school for ambassadors," Amy said.**

Reagan giggled. "I'm an ambassador at school! I tutor the little kids, show people around –OO, I even get to…" Reagan blushed. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Madison nodded. "Sometimes you scare me."

"THANK YOU!" And Reagan tackled her sister in a hug.

"**But don't you get it? That's just a cover. You remember what Jonah said?**

"Yes! AND HIS NAME ISN'T WUBZY!" Ian yelled at the stairs.

"YES IT IS!" Jonah had gotten his crutches and was now at the top of the stairs, glaring. "What kind of name is Mr. Buttons?"

"Where is his monocle –" Ian gasped as Jonah held it up. "You…" Hamilton got in between Ian and Jonah.

"Oh no, we are not having a Brawl of the Bears!"

Natalie grinned. "I like it."

Jonah dropped the monocle, which cracked it. Ian's eyes flared.

"NOW YOU DIE!" And Ian charged. Jonah leaped. Hamilton picked up Ian with one arm and caught Jonah with another.

Everyone stared with their mouths open. "Are these two idiots seriously fighting over… a monocle?"

"THIS IS MORE THAN A MONOCLE!" Jonah yelled, clawing his way across Hamilton's shoulders, who kept pulling him back.

"IT IS THE SIMPLE PRINCIPLE THAT _I _AM RIGHT AND HE IS WRONG, LIKE HE ALWAYS IS!" Ian reached for the monocle.

Jonah gasped. "Oh no, you didn't!"

Alistair rose from his chair. "Come, Phoenix." Confused and tired of being told to follow, Phoenix shuffled behind the old man into the kitchen, where Alistair pulled out two water guns. "Now, we have some fun." They two walked out nonchalantly and fired – Alistair taking Ian and Phoenix taking Jonah.

"I've been shot!" Jonah gasped dramatically, grabbing at his heart. "Put my killer to rest!"

Then he sprawled out, 'dead'.

Ian spit water in Jonah's face. "Now put me down!"

Hamilton dropped the sassy Lucian, who landed on his feet and got the monocle. Handing it to Sinead, she hooked the monocle to Mr. Buttons vest and handed back to Ian, who walked over to his seat, setting Mr. Buttons next to him.

"If I may finish?" Fiske asked. He opened his mouth to begin reading when the intercom came on.

"_NELLIE GOMEZ, GET OUTSIDE!" _Eisenhower Holt's voice bellowed.

Sighing with annoyance, Nellie stood and walked out the front door.

"Now, you may finish," Cora Wizard's silky voice said as Jonah and Hamilton went and sat down.

**Paris is a Lucian stronghold."**

"Oh…" Ian said.

"And you say _I _have blond moments," Natalie scoffed.

**Dan's eyes lit up. "This must be their secret base!"**

**Amy nodded. "The question is, what do we do?"**

"**We go in," Dan said.**

"**Right. Without the security codes?"**

"**5910. I watched her punch it in."**

_In the parents/Bae's secret hideout that only I know where…. _

Isabel sighed. "Ugh, now we have to change all of the codes again."

Vikram rolled his eyes. "Oh? Is 5910 your age?"

Isabel's eyes flashed. "HUSH!"

"SHE DIDN'T DENY IT!" Eisenhower cheered. "AHA!"

Cora held up a finger as she watched Nellie Gomez being blindfolded and put into the back of a limo. She smiled wickedly. "Perfect."

_Back to the kidnapped pampered Cahills…_

"Ugh, now Mum's gonna change all the codes!" Natalie whined.

"Why? Because she's 5910?" Ned and Ted laughed and highfived, then each Ow-d and held their foreheads.

**Amy stared at him. "How did you – never mind. Let's go. But be careful. They probably have cameras and guard dogs and stuff."**

**They squeezed inside the gate and ran up the front steps. Dan punched in the code.**

"Couldn't they get fingerprints?" Jonah asked.

"Couldn't you go play your little ukulele or something?" Ian hissed. "Mudblood…"

**The door opened easily. No alarms went off. No guard dogs barked. **

"**Weird," he muttered. But it was too late for second guessing. They slipped inside the Lucian base. **

**The entry hall was bigger than their whole apartment.**

"Most things are," Natalie smirked.

**The floor was polished marble and a chandelier hung from the ceiling. A set of black doors stood in front of them. On the left, a spiral staircase led up to a balcony.**

"Wow," Sinead said. "That sounds _beautiful!" _

"As if _we'd _ever see it," Jonah grumbled. "We aren't good enough."

Natalie giggled. "Wow, Jonah actually figured that out!"

"**Look." Dan pointed above the doors. A surveillance camera was sweeping the room. It was angled away from them, but it wouldn't be long.**

"You do realize that Irina _wanted _you in," Ian said. "To win, right?"

"Why would she want that?" Dan asked.

"Because of her dead son. She felt sorry for you two and tried for you to win." Ian shrugged. "But oh well. The woman's dead."

**Then he heard voices from behind the double doors – someone coming in their direction.**

"**Quick!" He ran for the stairs. Amy looked like she wanted to argue, but there was no time. She followed him up.**

**Dan's heart pounded. **

"Rick Riordan, this is no time to be worrying about Dan's heart," Phoenix said.

"Phoenix, how old are you? Nine? Hush," Dan pouted. "If he wants to care about me, let him."

"Dan, you're eleven," Jonah said. "Shut up."

Dan folded his arms, pouting.

**He'd always thought it would be cool to play burglar and sneak into someone's house, **

"Oh my Baggins, you're Bilbo!" Hamilton laughed. "I call Thorin!"

Every pair of eyes were blank, staring at the big buff nerdy guy in a confused state and disbelief.

"_Hobbit_, anyone? No?"

Everyone shook their heads as one.

"Ok then… Gosh…"

**but now that he was doing it for real, his hands were sweating. He wondered if the French still threw burglars into rat-infested dungeons. **

"No, but Lucians do," Ned said. "Me and Ted should know. We broke in one and escaped with only one scratch from when Ted fell through the hole."

"It was a rather unseen hole!"

**He'd seen something like that once in a musical Grace took them to.**

**They sneaked along the second-floor hallway.**

"**I don't get it," Dan whispered. "Irina must be a Lucian. Benjamin Franklin was a Lucian. Does that mean Franklin was one of the bad guys?"**

"To his branch, Past-Dan!" Present-Dan said.

"**Maybe it's not that simple," Amy said. "Look."**

**Painted portraits hung along the walls – Napoleon Bonaparte, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill, a few others Dan didn't recognize.**

"When do you, is the question," Reagan Holt smirked.

"**More famous Lucians," Amy guessed. "Not necessarily good or bad. But definitely a lot of powerful people."**

"Like Ian," Amy said.

Ian frowned at her. "I turned good!"

"Key word: turned!"

"What did I ever do to you?"

"You tried to push me into a deadly fan, almost helped your mother feed me to sharks, you-"

"OK, you have a point!" He sighed, throwing up his hands. "Excuse me!"

"**And we just invaded their house," Dan said.**

**They past a row of heavy oak doors, all of them closed. One was labeled LOGISTIQUE. Another read CARTOGRAPHIE. The last door on the right read ARSENAL.**

"Uh-oh," Alistair said.

"**Sweet!" **

"**Dan, no!" Amy whispered, but she was too late to intercept him. Dan opened the arsenal door and slipped inside. **

**A little late, he considered that it might not be a good idea to enter a room full of weapons if there was already someone in there. **

"Wow, never thought of that," Madison said, rolling her eyes.

**Fortunately, there wasn't. The arsenal was about thirty feet square and full of amazingly cool stuff: crates of cannonballs, racks of knives, swords, canes, shields, and umbrellas. **

"Canes and umbrellas?" Jonah asked.

"Don't ask," Fiske advised. "It would not be wise."

**Dan wasn't sure about the umbrellas, but he figured they did something besides just stop the rain.**

"**We shouldn't be here!" Amy hissed.**

"Where's Nellie?" Dan asked.

"Who cares?" Reagan Holt said.

"We care!" Amy and Dan said simultaneously.

"She'll be in shortly, children," Alistair said. "Now please be quiet." He stretched. "It is getting time for my nap."

"**Gee, you think?" Dan picked up a shoebox-size wooden crate full of glass tubes with copper wires twined around the tops. "Hey, it's one of those Franklin batteries, like in the museum."**

**Amy's eyebrows furrowed. "What's it doing in an arsenal?"**

"Oh, I don't know, being a battery," Jonah said. "Must be lonely to be a battery… And ADHD-ish. All that energy pent up and you get shoved into something, venting yourself until – snap! – one day all of your energy is gone. You run out of life."

"You put too much thought into that," Hamilton said.

"**Don't know, but I'm collecting it!" **

"You stole from a Lucian base…" Ted said.

"Yep."

"Did it work?"

"Let us read and find out!" Fiske said.

**Despite Amy's protests, Dan stuffed the battery in his backpack. It fit because the pack was pretty much empty. The only other thing he had in there was the pictures of his parents, wrapped in a plastic sleeve, which he'd decided to keep with him for good luck.**

An echo of 'AWWWWW''s came from the girls in the room.

Dan blushed.

**A Styrofoam egg carton caught his eye. He opened it and found a single silver orb with blinking red lights. "This is cool, too!" He dropped it in his backpack.**

"**Dan, no!"**

"**What? They've got plenty of other stuff, and we need all the help we can get!"**

"**I could be dangerous."**

"I imagine most things would be," Jonah mumbled.

"**I hope so." He was admiring the shurikens and thinking he might take some of those, too, when a door slammed somewhere down the hall.**

"Probably Mum having a tantrum," Natalie said.

"**Better know what she's doing," a man said in English. "If she's wrong –"**

"Father," Ian and Natalie said together.

**A woman responded in French. Both voices faded down the corridor. **

"**Come on," Amy insisted. **_**"Now." **_

"Oh, snap, Mama Voice," Hamilton said.

**They poked their heads out to make sure the hall was clear, then sneaked out of the arsenal and deeper into the building.**

"Watch out, there might be snakes!" Reagan said sarcastically.

"Actually, there is a room in a secret building in India that has a room full of snakes with a pitfall in it," Natalie said.

**At the end of the hallway was another balcony, this one looking down on a big circular room. What Dan saw below reminded him of a military command center. There were computers along the walls, and in the middle of the room was a conference table that seemed to be one huge flat screen TV.**

"That's cool!" Hamilton said, his computer geekness coming out. "I'd give _anything _to have something like that!"

"Even your girlfriend?" Madison asked.

Hamilton stuck his tongue out. "Anything that wasn't a human!"

"Whoa, he has a girlfriend and I don't?!" Jonah gasped.

"Yes," Hamilton said. "And she plays softball, volleyball, _and_ she's a cheerleader."

"What's the name?"

"Jessi. Now, can we read?" Hamilton looked at Fiske.

"I will find more about this 'Jessi'. Mark my words…" Jonah mumbled.

**Irina Spasky was alone, leaning over the tabletop. Stacks of papers and folders sat next to her. She was punching commands on the tabletop, making images zoom and shrink. She was looking at the satellite map of the city.**

**Dan didn't dare speak, but he locked eyes with Amy. **

_**I want one of those, **_**he told her.**

"Me too!" Hamilton beamed.

"It's a good think Jessi is a computer geek like you," Reagan grumbled.

Phoenix looked over at Amy and Dan. "Guys… They're doing it again…"

Everyone looked over. Amy and Dan had the weirdest facial expressions. Dan looked happy and mysterious; Amy looked annoyed.

"Dweeb," Amy grumbled.

**Amy's expression said **_**Shut up! **_

"It always says that," Dan said, his look still evil.

**They crouched behind the balcony rail and watched as Irina commanded the map to zoom in on different locations. She checked the **_**Poor Richard's Almanack **_**book, then got out a pad of paper and jotted something down. She snatched up the book and the pad and hurried out of the room – back toward the main entrance. **

Amy frowned. She still didn't understand why Irina helped them win.

"**Amy, come on!" Dan straddled the railing. **

"**You'll break your legs!"**

"**Hang from the edge and just drop. I've done it off the roof at school a million times. It's easy."**

"It's amazing you weren't caught," Ian said.

**He did. And it was. A second later, they were both at the conference table, staring at the image still flickering on the screen: a white targeting icon hovering over one particular spot in Paris. The address glowed in red letters: **_**23 Rue des Jardins.**_

**Dan pointed to a ribbon of blue surrounding the dot. "That's water. Which means that little blob she was targeting must be an island."**

"**The Ile St-Louis," Amy said. "It's on the Seine River right in the middle of Paris. Can you memorize the address?"**

"Is that a trick question?" Dan said sarcastically.

"**Already done." Then Dan noticed something else – a photograph…**

Fiske's voice trailed off. "Oh dear…"

"What is it?" Alistair asked, looking over Fiske's shoulder.

"I was targeted by Irina," Fiske said. "She knew I was trailing them!"

"So?"

"I'm a horrible spy…" He continued:

**sitting on top of Irina Spasky's files. He picked it up and felt sick to his stomach. **

"Why thank you, Daniel," Fiske said.

"It's Dan! Dan only! Just like my parents named me!"

"**It's him." Dan showed Amy the photo – an older man with gray hair and a black suit, crossing the street. The photo was fuzzy, but it must've been taken in Paris. Dan could tell from the yellow stone buildings and the French signs. "The man in black is here."**

"I was on your plane!" Fiske said.

"Fiske, you gotta stop making comments," Sinead said. "You're getting confusing."

**Amy paled. "But why –"**

**A voice came from somewhere down the hall: "–**_**J'entends des mouvements. Fouillez le batiment."**_

**Dan didn't need to speak French to know that meant trouble. **

"I hear movement," Jonah translated. "Search the building."

**He and Amy ran the other direction, down another hallway.**

"_**Arretez!" **_**a man yelled behind them. Immediately, alarms started blaring.**

"Stop!" Jonah again translated.

"**Oh, great!" Amy said.**

"**This way!" Dan turned a corner. He didn't dare look behind them. He could hear their pursuers getting closer – boots pounding on the marble floor.**

"Ah, such a shame for marble floors," Natalie said, now braiding Amy's hair.

"**Bars!" Amy warned.**

**The building's automatic defenses must have been activated. Right in front of them, a set of metal bars was descending from the ceiling, cutting off the hallway.**

"**Slide into third!" Dan yelled.**

"You play baseball?" Reagan asked.

"No," Dan said. "Just… a phrase."

Madison sighed. "A shame."

"**What?" Amy demanded, glancing back at the security guards. Dan ran forward and hit the ground like it was a water slide, slipping under the bars. "Come on!"**

**Amy hesitated. The bars were getting lower – three feet off the ground, two and a half feet. Behind her, two burly guys in black security guard outfits were closing fast, armed with nightsticks. **

"Amy is not a softball player," Reagan sighed sadly.

"**Amy, now!"**

**She dropped and started crawling under the bars. Dan pulled her through just as the bars clanged against the floor. The security guards grabbed at them through the bars, but Dan and Amy were already running. **

**They found an open door and ducked into a parlor. **

"Ugh, a parlor. What is a parlor?!" Hamilton sighed.

"We have no idea," the twins said.

They looked at the Starling triplets, who just shrugged. "Hard to explain."

"**The window!" Dan said.**

**A metal mesh curtain was closing over the glass. It was already halfway down. **

"This is getting suspenseful!" Sinead said, rolling her eyes.

**There was no time to think. Dan picked up a bust of Napoleon from the coffee table and threw it through the glass. **_**CRASH! **_**He could hear the guards in the hallway shouting over the wail of alarms. **

**Dan kicked the remaining glass shards away. "Go!" he told Amy. She crawled through and he followed, pulling his left foot out just before the metal curtain clamped against the windowsill. They ran through the garden, climbed the iron gates, and raced across the street. They ducked behind the purple ice cream van and slid to the ground, breathing hard.**

"You were that close!" Madison said, gasping.

**Dan looked back, but there were no signs of pursuit – at least, not yet. **

"**Let's not do that again," Amy said. **

**Dan's blood was racing. Now that he was out of danger, he realized how much fun he'd just had. **

"Fun? _FUN?!" _ Amy rolled her eyes. "You idiot! That was stupid!"

"You have no sense of fun!" Dan said back.

"Fun isn't about getting killed or breaking into arsenals!"

"That's _extremely _fun!"

"If you're an idiot!" she huffed. "Dweeb."

"**I want an arsenal! And one of those computer-screen tables. Amy, we need to make our own secret headquarters!"**

"You guys could call it the _Gideon!" _Phoenix said. "After, uh, the guy who made the serum…"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Alistair said.

"**Oh, sure," Amy said, still breathing hard. She pulled some change and bills out of her pocket. "I've got about two hundred and fifty-three euros left. You think that'll buy us a secret headquarters?" **

"So Pessimistic," Jonah sighed.

**Dan's heart sank. She didn't have to be so mean about it, but she was right. **

"I usually am," Amy said.

**They were burning through their money fast. He didn't have much more than she did. They'd given most of it to Nellie for travel expenses, but it still wasn't much. If they had to fly somewhere else after Paris… He decided not to think about it. One thing at a time. **

"**Let's get back to the Metro," he said. **

"**Yes," Amy said. "Back to Nellie. She'll be getting worried."**

"Like I am!" Amy turned in her seat to face the door. "She's been outside for a while!"

"Amy, dear, just be patient," Alistair said.

"I can't! She's…" Amy got up and ran to the door. "Alistair, she's not there!"

"They… Amy we have three more lines. Please sit."

**Dan shook his head. "No time, sis. 23 Rue de Jardins. We have to find out what's on that island, and we have to get there before Irina!"**

Amy grabbed Dan's hand and yanked him towards the door. She tried to open the door, but when she did, it wouldn't open. "Why can't we get out?!"

"Because they don't want us to leave. They want us to stay. And children," Fiske said, rising from his chair, "Phoenix will be reading next. But I think you two need to stay calm. They'll bring Nellie back." He looked at the camera. "Won't you?"


	13. Holts - Ice Cream Vendors

**Chapter 13**

_**A/N: IF YOU GUYS DO NOT GO VOTE! GO GO GO! Or I won't know who to read the next chapter (which might have Amian. Who knows? No one will if you don't go vote!)**_

Fiske Cahill handed the book to Phoenix Wizard. "You are the last person. Let us get chapter thirteen over with so we can rest." He looked at his watch. "It's three o'clock. We could rest until dinner and then do chapter fourteen, if you guys are ok with that?"

Everyone mumbled that it was fine and Phoenix reopened the book. "Hey, what's up with the black dots on the bottom of the page?"

"Huh?" Jonah looked over his shoulder. "Let me see…"

Jonah took the book from his hand and flipped back a few pages. "It looks like it should start on 129... Numbers… Could it be letters?" He looked over at Hamilton.

"It's something to do!" Hamilton took the book out of Jonah's hand, took a pen out of his pocket, and began scratching letters in the margins.

"Your handwriting is awful," Sinead said, looking over his shoulder.

"Stop judging, Ekat," he said, the pen cap in his mouth. "I've seen your notes; they aren't much better."

Sinead frowned and sat back down.

"So, what did you get?" Madison asked.

He flipped back. "A-N-N-E-C-A-H-I-L-L-D-I-D-N-O-T-D-R-O-W-N."

Reagan, who had been writing it on her hand, frowned. "Anne Cahill did not drown? Who's Anne Cahill?"

Ted spoke up: "She was an Ekat who was on the _Titanic. _She got on the boat under the name of Nella Chain, and when the boat flooded, she apparently didn't drown." He folded his arms. "_Some _of us read our branches history!"

Sinead rolled her eyes.

"So, should I read now?"

Hamilton tossed him the book. "Fun's over! Let's all take a nap while Phoenix reads us a bed time story!" He leaned back in his chair, eyes closed.

Phoenix rolled his eyes and looked at the book and began:

**Meanwhile, inside the ice cream van, the Holts were strangling each other.**

"Oh crap," Madison said, head in her hands.

**Madison was on Hamilton's back, hitting him over the head with a box of Fudgesicles.**

"And Hamilton didn't fight back?" Sinead raised an eyebrow.

Hamilton shrugged in the chair. "I don't hit little girls."

Madison folded her arms.

**Their mother, Mary-Todd, was trying to pull them apart. Reagan and Arnold, the pit bull, were playing tug-of-war with a package of Eskimo Pies. **

Hamilton sat straight up. "Speaking of which, where is my puppy?"

"Puppy?" Ned scoffed. "That is _not _a puppy!"

Arnold bounded down the stairs with Saladin prancing in front of him, tails in the air. They went into the kitchen and there was a crash. Arnold bolted out from the kitchen and jumped in Hamilton's lap, quivering.

"What's wrong, Buddy?" Hamilton asked him.

Dan got up from his seat and walked into the kitchen. Picking up his cat, he shook his head. "How did you two manage to make the silver-ware drawer fall?"

Saladin: "Mrrp…"

**Eisenhower, the weary leader of the family, bellowed, "Stop it! Company, FALL IN!"**

"Phoenix, stop yelling!" Jonah said, covering his ears.

"What?" Phoenix looked up from the book. "You told me to read, and I'm just reading like it says!"

**Hamilton and Madison separated and snapped to attention, dropping the Fudgesicles. Mary-Todd brushed herself off, glaring at her children, then fell into line. Reagan held the Eskimo Pies in present arms stance. Arnold rolled over and played dead.**

Arnold rolled out of the chair and onto his back in the floor, eyes closed, tongue out – 'dead'.

Reagan face-palmed. Hamilton put his arms over his eyes and went to sleep.

"**Right!" Eisenhower growled. "I will not have this family killing each other over frozen dairy products!"**

"But it sounds so much fun!" Dan said, sitting back down with Saladin in his lap.

Saladin, licking his paw, looked at Arnold. Pausing with tongue mid-lick, he seemed to Cat-Frown.

**Reagan said, "But, Dad –"**

Reagan blushed.

"**Silence! I said you'd get ice cream **_**after **_**we finish the mission. And we are not finished until I get a **_**report!" **_

"Did you guys have to _type _a report for your _dad?!" _Natalie asked, her jaw dropped.

"No, we just… told him what happened," Madison said. "Hamilton could probably explain it better."

The twins and Natalie looked that way. Jonah lifted up the Big Guys arm (which was over his eyes) and shook his head. "Maybe if he was awake he could explain."

The twins sighed. "Oh well…"

**Madison saluted. **

"You saluted to your dad?!" Sinead asked, eyes wide.

The twins shook their head. "Non-Tomas's don't understand."

"The mortals don't even know," Dan whispered.

Ian frowned. "I just can't believe the _Holt's _got a chapter before we Lucians did."

Natalie pouted. "Shut up, Ian! Don't remind them!"

The twins grinned evilly. "So who's more of the main character now?"

Natalie stuck her tongue out.

"**Dad, permission to report!"**

"**Go ahead."**

"**The surveillance microphone worked."**

"'Surveillance microphone'?" Amy asked.

Madison laughed nervously. "Yeah, we bugged you guys."

"What?" Reagan said. "Did you expect us Tomas's to be _stupid _or something, Amy?"

"N-no! It's just that –"

"I'm sure you didn't…"

"**Excellent. Did the brats take the book?"**

"We aren't brats!" Dan exclaimed. "We are not big headed dolls!"

**Madison shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know, sir. But they're going to 23 Rue des Jardins, Ile St-Louis."**

"_**If **_**you got the number right this time," Hamilton griped. **

"I wonder who this 'Jessi' is…" Jonah wondered aloud. "And how she puts up with –" Hamilton snored "that."

"Jessi's actually very nice," Reagan said. "She's just really athletic, and people… Let's just say, she's the misfit in her family."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And if you cause them to break up, we break your face."

Jonah's eyes went wide. "I'm good…"

**Madison's face turned bright red. "That wasn't my fault!" **

"**We drove the rental car into the Seine!"**

"What's that?" Natalie asked.

"It's a water-way," Ian said. "You guys drove… Into water…"

The twins blushed.

"**Oh, and you have all the great ideas, Hammy. **

"Hammy?" Ian snickered.

Madison kicked him in the shin.

**Like that stupid explosion that hit the wrong team in the museum! **

Sinead's eyes flared towards the Holt asleep next to her.

**Or burning down Grace's mansion!"**

Dan and Amy glared.

"You picked the wrong chapter to fall asleep," Phoenix whispered, smiling evilly.

"**Stop yelling!" Mary-Todd yelled. **

"That's kind of... hypocritish, right?" Ned Starling said.

"Our mom is _not _a hypocrite!" Reagan barked.

"Whoa there, Feisty," Jonah said. "Don't go hurting Ned, now."

Reagan, fuming, sank back down into the floor.

"**Children, we can't keep arguing with each other. It hurts team morale."**

"**Your mother is right," Eisenhower said. "The fire at the mansion and the museum bomb were both bad ideas.**

Madison stuck her tongue out at Hamilton's sleeping body.

**We should've pulverized the Cahill brats in person!"**

"_Again, _we are not big headed dolls!" Dan said, rolling his eyes.

**Arnold barked excitedly and tried to bite Eisenhower's nose.**

Arnold jumped up and snipped at Phoenix, barely missing and prancing off with Saladin behind him.

**Reagan knit her eyebrows. She shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "But, um, Dad…" **

"**Problem, Reagan?"**

Madison folded her arms and glared at her blushing sister.

"**Well, the explosion… I mean, it could've killed them, right?"**

Sinead finally hit her fuse. "And it about did!" She picked up a water bottle which Alistair had left on the floor from his spraying attacks, opened the cap, and poured it on Hamilton. He bolted straight up, sputtering and cursing while Sinead stormed upstairs, throwing the bottle at him.

Hamilton caught it and started to throw it back, but Madison and Reagan caught his arm.

"Just let it go," Jonah said; his arm in front of Phoenix in case Hamilton had a "Tomas-Fit".

Hamilton sat back down, muttering curses and tossing the bottle to Alistair. Jonah moved his arm and nodded to Phoenix.

**Madison rolled her eyes. "Oh, here we go again! You're going soft, Reagan!"**

"She has good reason to," Alistair says. "Reagan is the calmest Tomas I've seen in a while." Hamilton and Madison frowned, but Alistair held up a hand. "Though, I must say, Eisenhower and Mary-Todd raised some pretty well-mannered kids."

*Note: From in the parents/Branch-leaders secret hide out, the Holt parents swelled with pride. Even Eisenhower admitted he "always liked that Ekat".*

**Reagan's face turned bright red. "Am not!" **

"**Are too!"**

"**Quiet!" Eisenhower bellowed. **

"Phoenix," Natalie said. "I promise we can hear you, there is no need to yell."

Phoenix blushed. "Just reading how it goes."

"Plus," Madison said, "Dad is much louder."

"**Now look, everybody. We're going to have to use dome drastic measures to win this contest. I can't have everybody getting soft! Understood?"**

"Yea, ya Pansy Parkinson!" Madison snapped at Reagan.

**He glared at Reagan, who stared glumly at the floor. "Yessir."**

"**We know Dan and Amy were Grace's favorites," Eisenhower continued. **

"And don't you forget it," Amy mumbled.

"Where's Nellie?! Someone has to fix us dinner!" Dan complained.

Ned Starling's eyes went wide. "No one to fix dinner?! Sinead and Amy burn water…"

"Hey!" Amy snapped.

"Sorry. But…" Despite the head ache, he looked at Natalie and the twins. "How are you guys at cooking?"

Natalie scoffed. "I'm not cooking with _them." _

Madison looked horrified; Reagan, however, smiled. "Oh, I got the highest average in home-EC all year!"

Madison punched Reagan in the arm. "Ow!" Reagan rubbed her arm, socking her back. "Idiot!"

"Well then, don't tell them that! Now we have to cook!"

"YAY!" Reagan clapped her hands, smiling. Madison just shook her head.

Hamilton mumbled to Jonah, "Reagan was never the brightest bulb in the box."

Jonah snickered.

"**Old McIntyre is probably giving them inside information. Now they've beat us inside the Lucian stronghold while we were trying to do surveillance, which was **_**also **_**a bad idea! Are we going to tolerate any more bad ideas?"**

"**No, sir!" the kids shouted.**

"I'm not a kid!" Hamilton protested. "I'm sixteen now!"

"Son, you are still younger than eighteen," Fiske said.

"**They think we're not clever," Eisenhower said. "They think all we can do is flex our muscles. Well, they're about to find out we can do more than that!" Eisenhower flexed his muscles. **

"No, Dad," Hamilton said. "Just stop."

"So," Natalie smirked, "you got the chapter, but with more… embarrassing things."

"Hey, I didn't carry around a doll at eleven!" Madison snapped back.

Natalie's face burned red.

"**Teamwork!" Mary-Todd cried. "Right, children?"**

"**Yessir!**

Ian chuckled. "You called your mom a sir."

Natalie frowned. "God, Ian, you're stupid!"

**Teamwork!"**

"_**Arff!" **_**Arnold said**

"**Now," Eisenhower said. "We have to get that book. We've got to assume those brats have it, or they know what's in it.**

"AGAIN, WE'RE NOT DOLLS!" Dan yelled.

"Bro, it ain't that deep," Jonah said.

"It's been three times. It is that deep."

**We need to get to the Ile St-Louis, **_**without **_**driving the ice cream van into the river! Who's with me?"**

**The kids and Mary-Todd cheered. Then they remembered the ice cream, and the kids went back to strangling each other. **

**Eisenhower grunted. He decided he'd let them wrestle for a while. Maybe it would build character.**

Fiske rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Eisenhower made him wonder how he came up with those reasons.

**All his life, people had laughed at behind Eisenhower's back. They'd laughed when he flunked out of West Point. They'd laughed when he failed the entrance exam for the FBI. They'd even laughed the time he was working as a security guard, when he'd chased a shoplifter and accidentally Tasered himself in the rear end. A simple mistake. Anyone could've made it. **

"Aw," Natalie pouted. "That's sad."

Ian looked at his sister. "Bloody hell, you're being serious!"

"Well, it is! He was laughed at and failed but Mary-Todd was always there! It's sad and happy!"

Madison rolled her eyes. "Ew. That's our –"

"That is sad and happy!" Reagan agreed.

Madison looked at her sister. "Will you _shut up!?" _

**Once he won this contest, he would become the most powerful Cahill of all time. No one would laugh at him again.**

**He pounded his fist into the van's cash register. Those Cahill kids were starting to get on his nerves. **

"Thank you!" Dan sighed.

**They were too much like their parents, Arthur and Hope.**

Amy smiled.

**Eisenhower had known **_**them **_**all too well. He had an old score to settle with the Cahills. **

**Soon, Amy and Dan Cahill would pay.**

Phoenix put in the bookmark and set the book down, but barely sat up again before Hamilton was gone.

"Where are you going?" Madison called.

"TO MY LAPTOP TO BE AWAY FROM YOU GUYS!" he called, slamming his door.

"Bad dream, I guess," Ian muttered.

* * *

Amy Cahill walked into her room, and checked her nightstand. _The Sword Thief _was still there, her torn piece of paper as a bookmark. She let out a sigh of relief. No one had noticed.

She took it out. Maybe she could go to the study and read it… Hopefully no one would be there.

Reaching in her closet, Amy found a pull over and smiled. The pocket in the front was just big enough for the small book. Pulling it on, she put the book in the pocket and stepped out.

Her room was on one side, the first room you'd see, while the study was what seemed like a football field away. Sighing, she went on. For the first minute, she didn't see anyone, but she became distracted and began daydreaming as she walked.

Did Evan Tolliver miss her any? Would he? Did he even notice? Did her other _few _friends notice? Dan didn't have many friends now, except for a few dweebs on the Internet, but they didn't really count. The ninja stuff for him wasn't as strong. Maybe he was growing up.

Then she ran into something – or someone.

"Hey, watch it, will you?" Ian Kabra's smooth silky voice said, but it wasn't as prissy and snappy as it was before the clue hunt. "Bloody hell, did I spill any _British _tea on me?"

Amy took a careful step back and looked at his fresh white button up shirt and his khaki's and loafers. "N-no… Sorry."

"Yes, well." He looked down at his tea cup, then up at her. "Wait a minute." That Lucian smirk spread across his face and she paled. "You, Miss Cahill, are up to something."

She blushed, and paled, and blushed again. "No!" She bit her tongue. "Ow! Ugh, shouldn't you be calling one of your many girlfriends?!"

Ian smirk widened into a slight smile. "Love, I'm a – oh, how do you American's say it – a single pringle?"

Amy paused. She had never heard it that way. "Um, ok, well, I need to go to the study, so if you'll excuse me –"

"No," Ian said bluntly, stabbing the bush instead of beating around it.

Amy became flustered for words. "And why not!" she managed.

"Because, Love – Oh, hello, Evan!" He was looking over her shoulder.

Amy knew it was a trap, but she smiled and turned her head anyways. There wasn't an Evan standing anywhere, but there was an Ian Kabra standing in front of her with _The Sword Thief _in his hand.

"Oh, Love, thank you for finding the page for me! But I must say you need some work if we ever get married."

"Wait, what?" she sighed. "Can I have my book back?"

Ian looked at the book. "No, I don't think so. I might read this myself tonight before I go to bed."

She frowned. "Ian!"

He sipped his tea. "Be seeing you at dinner, Love!"

Then he walked into the room she was standing next to. Sighing, she continued on her journey to the study. Maybe there would be _some _kind of book in there.

* * *

Natalie Kabra smirked from her computer screen. The twins and Dan sat on either side of her, watching. Apparently, all of the Holts were amazing with computers, and Reagan could hack into the cameras (which had audio) and watch whatever her fellow cousins were doing.

"So, is plan _Amian _a go?" Dan asked the three girls.

Natalie smiled wickedly. "Oh, yes. And here's the plan…"


	14. Chef Reagan's Feast

**Chapter 14**

Reagan Holt, with her pigtails tied together with her softball ribbon and black grease paint under her eyes, tied the apron around her.

It was game time.

No one was helping her cook a meal for fourteen hungry mouths – actually, make that fifteen. Hamilton's appetite covers for two. Natalie had let her use her laptop to look up recipes while she had a "spa day", as she called it, because she missed her hair appointment. Reagan guessed that Spa Day meant a bubble bath and then painting her nails afterwards. She had never really had a spa day.

Going on to Google, she typed in "Recipes for 15-20 people". What came up was "BAKED BEANS TO FEED 100!" She frowned. Her mom would know. She was used to feeding Hamilton and her dad, and they count take at least 3 platefuls if they were hungry.

She pulled out her phone – a cheap flip phone that has been thrown many, _many _times. There she texted her mom.

_I'm in charge of cooking dinner tonight. Any ideas?_

In a few minutes, Mom texted back:

_OK, start making a casserole and side dishes. Make a broccoli and cheese casserole. I'll send a turkey that way. Try like green beans and corn and baked beans. Maybe some Deviled Eggs for appetizers! Then, you should make cupcakes for dessert. Actually, that's a lot for a little girl, so I'll send those too… OH, try like cheese biscuits from Red Lobster. I think that should be good._

Reagan sighed. Mom always went to the extreme with cooking. Telling Mary-Todd bye and "Love you too", she began looking up broccoli and cheese casserole recipes and began boiling two pots of water for corn on the cob, because all the cobs wouldn't fit in one.

Reagan Holt, soccer player, softball pitcher, and volleyball player, was about to give Nellie Gomez, the French chef, a run for her pancakes.

* * *

Three hot painful hours later, with only one burn while getting out the cheese biscuits from the oven, dinner was done.

Reagan picked up the air horn her mom had sent her when she got her servants to bring the turkey and chocolate cupcakes. As she stepped out of the kitchen, she saw Alistair and Fiske at the table, discussing something in murmurs over a map. She waved her hand and caught Alistair's attention. Shaking the air horn, Alistair understood and put his fingers in his ears. Fiske followed his lead, bracing for the sound. Reagan pushed the button and the whole house was echoing the sound. Teenagers upstairs began screaming and complaining.

"WHO'S BLOWING THE AIR HORN?!" Hamilton's voice rose above everyone else's. They all began gathering on the stairs.

Reagan stopped the air horn and grinned. "Dinner's ready! Grab a plate and go through the line!" Then she turned around and skipped in the kitchen.

"Will I need a barf bag for this?" Jonah mumbled to Hamilton, but he looked as confused as Jonah.

"Not sure. I've never tasted her cooking."

All the guys were appreciating the "Ladies First" rule, letting the girls go first. Reagan frowned. "It's actually good."

Hamilton, being the _amazing _big brother, went first. He got a scoop of everything as people filed in behind him. Everyone's plates got full and once, everyone sat down, Reagan made her plate. Alistair was the first one to take a bite.

His mouth watered. "My, Reagan! I didn't know you had it in you! This is amazing!" Reagan swelling with pride, grinning.

Everyone ate, all agreeing that Reagan gave Nellie a run for her money. After an hour, the table was cleared and Amy had _The Maze of Bones _in hand.

"So I'm reading?" Amy asked, as no one else seemed to want to touch the book. "Okie dokie, then." She took out the bookmark while opening. "Ok, I think we can afford a fifty-cent book mark."

"We could fold down the corner –"

"_NO!" _Amy snapped, slapping the table with the palm of her hand. "We're not messing up the pages!"

"Okay then!" Dan asked while a little frightened.

She crossed her leg and pulled the book up. "Wait…" Amy began to count the chapter pages. "This is sixteen pages!"

"I suggest, then, that you get to reading," Ian said in his sarcastic British accent that she unfortunately found quite… amazinglyadorbsomgadulgfliudfhl.

Instead of fangirling like she wanted to, she rolled her eyes and began the chapter reluctantly:

**Amy was all in favor of rushing to the Ile St-Louis, but her stomach had other ideas.**

"My stomach is telling me to not eat anymore," Dan said. "I never want to look at a cheese biscuit again."

Reagan got up and went into the kitchen.

"Reagan what are you doing?" Hamilton called. "If I have to listen, so do you!"

"I'm making Arnold a plate!" she called back. "And, apparently, Saladin…." Saladin rubbed against her legs.

**They passed by a **_**boulangerie, **_**which must've meant bakery judging by the yummy smells, and Dan and she exchanged looks.**

"Did you say Boo-lingerie?" Dan asked his eyes wide at his sister.

Madison giggled and mumbled, "Ian wouldn't like that."

The four evil ones exchanged grins. Ian and Amy's faces turned bright red.

"**Just one stop," they said together.**

**A few minutes later they were sitting on the quay of the river, sharing the best meal they'd ever had. **

"But nothing has beat Reagan's turkey," Jonah said.

Reagan blushed, not giving away her secret, as she sat back down. "Oh, yeah, there are cupcakes too…"

"I'm gonna bust…" Phoenix muttered, walking to the kitchen.

**It was only a loaf of bread, but Amy had never tasted anything so good.**

"**See that?" Amy pointed to the top of a nearby church, where a black iron spike rose from the bell tower. "Lightning rod."**

"**Umm," Dan said with his mouth full.**

"**The French were the first ones to test Franklin's theories about the lightning rods. A lot of old buildings still have the original Franklin models."**

"**Mmm!" Dan said enthusiastically, but Amy wasn't sure whether he liked the story or the bread.**

"Dweeb," she muttered under her breath.

Ian set a cupcake in front of her. She smiled and picked it up.

Natalie grinned and began typing something in her phone. She could've swore she saw before Natalie jerked away "Danny".

**The sun was going down behind a bulkhead of black clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance, but the Parisians didn't seem too concerned. Joggers and skaters crowded the riverside. A sightseeing boat loaded with tourists hummed along the Seine.**

**Amy tried to use the Starlings' cell phone to call Nellie, but the phone was dead. Apparently, it wasn't set up to get a signal in France.**

**Her nerves were still buzzing from the raid on the Lucian stronghold. Despite all the security, it still seemed like they'd gotten in and out pretty easily, and she wasn't sure why.**

"Thank Irina," Fiske muttered. "Great spy."

**She also didn't like the stuff Dan had taken –**

"When do you ever?" Dan asked as his thumbs flew on his iPhone.

**the Franklin battery and that weird metal sphere. She knew better than to argue with him about it, though.**

"Because you're scared of my ninja skills!" Dan exclaimed as he scarfed down the cupcake, chocolate covering his face.

"Yes, terrified," Amy said.

**Once he got his hands on something, he hardly ever let it go.**

"Like Arnold!" Madison grumbled as Arnold ran around the couch with her sock in his mouth.

**She wondered how Irina Spasky had gotten the book from Uncle Alistair, and why she would be interested in the Ile St-Louis.**

Ian's brain wanted to scream: _YOU IDIOTS SHE GOT YOU THERE ON PURPOSE! STUPID AMERICAN GIT AND PREEEEEETTY GIRL WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND! AHHHHHH!_

But he just sat there at the table, holding back all the times he wanted to blurt out about how they didn't realize this.

**It felt like a trap,**

_I don't know what would give you that feeling, _Ian inwardly smarted. _The purple ice cream van or getting out easy?_

**but it was Amy's only lead – or, at least, the only lead she wanted to think about. Her mother's note in the **_**Poor Richard's Almanack – the Maze of Bones – **_**still gave her chills.**

Dan didn't seem as interested in his phone as he was before he heard about his mom.

**She tried to imagine what her mother or Grace would do in her place. They would be braver.**

"You broke into a Lucian stronghold," Fiske said. "That's braver than me."

"Braver than you? You're the Madrigal leader," Jonah said.

"I ran away onto a submarine once. Pretty fun, though."

**They'd see what to do more clearly. Her mother had once searched for these same clues. Amy was sure of that now. Grace had intended Amy to take up the challenge, but what if Amy wasn't up to it?**

**So far she felt like she'd done a horrible job. **

_She hasn't had a chance to be with me yet, _Ian thought, smirking inwardly.

**Every time she'd needed to speak up, she failed. The other teams probably thought she was a mumbling loser. If it wasn't for Dan, she would've been lost. Just thinking about it made a lump form in her throat. **

**They finished their bread.**

"Finally," Hamilton said. "I'm tired of hearing about you two eating delicious bread after that… that feast!"

"Next time, we grill hamburgers and hot dogs!" Jonah said.

"Ew, no," Natalie said. "I'll starve, thanks."

Jonah rolled his eyes. "You can eat cereal."

**Amy knew they needed to get moving. She stared at the darkening skies and tried to remember details from her Paris guidebooks. "There aren't any Metro lines to Ile St-Louis," she said. "We'll have to walk."**

"**Let's do it!" **

"Says nobody ever," Ned grumbled.

**Dan hopped to his feet. **

**Amy couldn't believe how quickly his spirits had rebounded. A few minutes ago, he'd been complaining about his heavy backpack. Now, a hunk of bread later, he was as good as new. **

"The people behind the counter must've been Lucian's and slipped something in it," Sinead said.

Natalie rolled his eyes. "Please – Lucian's don't work in bakeries!"

**Amy wished she was like that. She felt like lying down and sleeping for a century, but she wasn't going to tell Dan that.**

"Should've picked the hunk of bread Dan ate," Sinead shrugged.

**It was full dark by the time they got to the Pont Louis-Philippe. The old stone bridge was lined with streetlamps that glowed against the water. On the opposite side rose a cluster of trees and mansions – the Ile St-Louis.**

"Mum wanted to buy a house there," Natalie mumbled. "But she settled for London instead." Pout.

**To the north was a larger island, with a huge cathedral lit up yellow in the night. **

"**That's the Ile de la Cite over there," Amy said as they walked across, mostly to keep herself calm. "And that's Notre Dame Cathedral."**

Hamilton grinned inwardly because Notre Dame was where he wanted to go badly for college.

"**Cool," Dan said. "You think we can see the hunchback?" **

"Quasimodo!" Madison smiled. "He's a ginger." The Starlings frowned.

"Not that there's anything wrong with them! But, beware, I may call you a Weasley from now on. Sorry." Madison shifted away from Sinead, who's green eyes were getting irritating.

"**Um… maybe later." Amy decided not to tell him that the hunchback of Notre Dame was just a character in a book. "Anyways, the smaller island we're going to – the Ile St-Louis – the tour books hardly said anything about it. Mostly old houses and shops and stuff. I don't know why Irina would be looking there."**

"So _that's _why Mum didn't move there!" Natalie realized.

"**No Ben Franklin history?" **

**Amy shook her head. "It used to be called the Island of the Cows, because that's all that lived there. Then they turned it into a neighborhood." **

"**Cows," Dan said. "Exciting."**

"Moooo!" Dan said, his eyes drooping.

**After the other parts of Paris they'd seen, the Ile St-Louis felt like a ghost town. The narrow streets were lined with elegant old apartments – five stories tall with black gabled roofs. Most of the windows were dark. A lot of shops were closed. Streetlamps cast weird shadows through the branches of trees, making monster shapes on the walls.**

"Still scared of monsters, Amy?" Ian chuckled. "How childish."

"Still scared Jonah might get Mr. Buttons?" Amy made a mock laugh. "How stupid."

Ian frowned. "Mr. Buttons shall not be talked about in that manner!"

"Well, he just was."

"Oh, snap," Jonah said.

**Amy was too old to believe in monsters, but the shadows still made her uneasy.**

"Ha!" Amy said, sticking her tongue out at Ian, who just rolled his eyes.

**An elderly couple crossed the street in front of them. Amy wondered if it was her imagination, or if the couple really glanced at her suspiciously before they disappeared into an alleyway. On the next block, a guy in a beret was walking a Labrador retriever. He smiled as he passed Amy and Dan, but his expression reminded Amy of Ian Kabra – like he knew a secret.**

"So you were thinking of me, while being paranoid!" Ian slapped the table. "I knew it!"

"No!" Amy rolled her eyes. "Ian, you're an idiot!"

"Love, that's no way to treat me!"

"Shut up, Ian! Let her read so we can go to bed!" Hamilton said.

_**You're just getting paranoid, **_**she told herself. Or was it possible there were other people seeking the clues, people that weren't even part of the seven teams? She glanced at Dan but decided not to say anything about this… not yet. The contest was already overwhelming enough.**

**After another hundred yards,**

"Do you mean pages?" Ned Starling yawned.

**they found the Rue des Jardins. It was narrow than the streets around it, with crumbling stone buildings that might have stood there for centuries. **

**Amy counted the street numbers. She stopped abruptly. "Dan… **_**23 **_**Rue des Jardins. Are you sure?"**

"Amy," Jonah said. "One does not simply doubt Dan Cahill."

Amy rolled her eyes.

"**Yeah. Why?"**

**Amy pointed. There was no building at 23 Rue des Jardins. Instead, ringed with a rust iron fence, was a tiny cemetery. At the back stood a marble mausoleum. In front, a dozen weathered headstones slanted every direction like crooked teeth. **

"Ew!" Natalie grimaced. "It's called braces!"

"They didn't have braces in the sixteen hundreds," Dan said.

**The cemetery was sandwiched together by tall buildings on either side. The one on the rights said MUSEE. The one on the left must've been some kind of shop once, but the windows were painted black and the door boarded up. **

"I wonder if it sold charcoal rubbings of tombstones for little brothers who have sisters who won't let them do it!" Dan hissed.

Amy rolled her eyes.

**The only light came from the dim orange glow of the city sky, which made the place seem even creepier.**

"**I don't like this," Amy said.**

"You don't like much," Natalie said, twisting her hair around her finger.

"**There can't be any connection to Franklin here."**

"**How do you know?" Dan asked. "We haven't even searched. And those and those tombstones look cool!"**

"**No, Dan. You **_**cannot **_**do charcoal rubbings."**

"If you would've let me, my collection would've been just a little bit bigger! I could've been that much closer to being the man with the most tombstone rubbings!"

"Dan, be realistic."

"I am! I could've been!"

"Yes, but now you're still a dweeb."

"Look what you've turned me into!"

"**Aw…" He walked through the cemetery gates, and Amy had no choice but to follow.**

**The tombstones told them nothing. Once upon a time, they might've had inscriptions, but they'd been worn smooth over the centuries. Amy's pulse was racing. Something wasn't right.**

"I almost brought a crow bar to this…" Madison whispered.

**She racked her brain, trying to figure out why this place might be important to Ben Franklin, but she couldn't come up with anything.**

**Cautiously, she approached the mausoleum. She'd always hated aboveground burial places. They made her think of doll houses for dead people.**

"Now, that's more creepy than a doll house," Jonah said.

Amy's face was now burning red, and it was a shocker she wasn't stuttering.

**The iron doors stood open. Amy was hesitant to get close. From ten feet away, she couldn't see anything inside – just old nameplates lining the walls – but a slab of marble lay on the ground in front of the door way. With a start, Amy realized the inscription was a lot newer than the rest of the cemetery. It looked freshly carved:**

"I don't read French," Amy said.

Jonah took it. "I got this, Sis."

Amy was suddenly confused. His 'gangsta' talk confused her.

Jonah read:

**SE TROUVENT ICI**

**AMY ET DAN CAHILL**

**ILS ONT COLLE LEURS NEZ DANS LES AFFAIRES DES AUTRES**

"What does that mean?" Phoenix asked mid yawn.

"'Here lies Amy and Dan Cahill. They stuck their noses in others business'," Jonah translated. He handed the book back to Amy. She began reading again:

"**Whoa," Dan said. "Why are our names –"**

"**Some kind of message…" Amy desperately wished she could read French. If she ever got back to the hotel, she promised herself that she would make Nellie give her lessons.**

"Ok, Fiske, where is Nellie? She's been gone for hours," Sinead asked.

"I –"

Before he could finish his statement, the intercom came on, and there was Nellie.

"Hey, Kiddos," she said, her voice sad and gloomy. "I'm not gonna be able to come back. They said that I was too much. So you guys finish the books, but I'll watch with them, ok? I know you guys know that they were watching and listening. Bye kiddos." She clicked off.

Dan fell out of his chair. "WE'RE DEAD! SHE'S GONE! LOOOOOST, LOOOOOST, THE PRECIOUS IS LOOOOOOOST!"

Hamilton just shook his head. "Oh, well. There are casualties in war."

Dan's head popped up. "SHE'S NOT DEAD!"

"But she's with Isabel and Cora," Ian pointed out.

"It was nice knowing you, Nellie," Jonah said dramatically.

"**Inside, right?" Dan said.**

"**No, it's a trap!"**

**But he stepped forward and the ground collapsed. The marble slab dropped into nothingness, taking Dan with it.**

"No, little buddy!" Hamilton said.

"You were one of the ones who tried to kill me!" Dan protested.

Ham shrugged. "Nothing's fair in love and clue hunt."

"**Dan!" **

**She ran to the edge of the hole, but the ground hadn't finished crumbling. Stone and dirt gave away like cloth under her feet and Amy tumbled into darkness. **

"This is like Percabeth all over again!" Phoenix breathed.

Dan smiled. "You read it too?!"

"One hundred and thirty-nine more days until _House of Hades_ is released…"

**For a second, she was too dazed to think. She coughed, her lungs filling with dust. She was sitting on something soft and warm…**

"It has to be panda!" Ted Starling said sarcastically. "I'm just sure of it!"

Ned snickered.

"**Dan!" In a panic, she scrambled off him and shook his arms, but it was too dark to see. "Dan, please be alive!"**

"**Ugh," he grunted.**

"**Are you okay?"**

"**My sister just sat on me with her bony butt. Of course I'm not okay."**

Dan laughed and Amy hit him with the hardcover book.

**Amy breathed a sigh of relief. If he was being annoying, he must be fine. She got up unsteadily, dirt and stones shifting beneath her feet. Looking up, she could see the mouth of the ragged pit they'd fallen into. They were in some kind of sink hole.**

"**The ground was hallowed out," she muttered. "The earth here is limestone. Lots of caves and tunnels under Paris. I guess we fell into accidentally."**

"So, wait. We were _that _close to the catacombs, correct?" Dan said.

"Not exactly," Ian said. "They weren't on the island. Besides, if you would've fallen in them, you wouldn't have known what they meant."

Dan huffed and folded his arms. He hated when they pointed out that he was wrong.

"**Accidentally?" Dan said. "Irina lured us here on purpose!"**

**Amy knew he was probably right, but she didn't want to think about it… or what might happen next. They had to get out. She swept her arms around the edges of their pit, but it was just that – a pit.**

"I would've never thought of that!" Phoenix said, rolling his sleepy eyes.

"I think Reagan grounded up sleeping pills in our food," Dan said.

Reagan grinned.

**No side tunnels, no exits except for straight up, and they'd fallen over ten feet. It was a miracle they hadn't broken any bones.**

**Suddenly, a light blinded her from above. "Well, well," said a man's voice.**

Arnold yapped in the background.

**When Amy's eyes adjusted, she saw five figures in purple warm-up suits smiling down at them, and one very excited pit bull.**

"I'm gonna burn that suit one of these days," Hamilton grumbled. The twins nodded.

"**The Holts!" Dan said. "It figures. You helped Irina set us up!"**

"**Oh, get over it, runt," Madison called down. "We didn't set up anybody." **

"I'm not a runt…" Dan said, sounding a little hurt.

"**Yeah," Reagan said. "You fell in all by yourselves."**

**She and Madison gave each other high fives and started laughing.**

**Amy's hands started to tremble. This was just like her nightmares…**

"We were in your nightmares?" Madison smiled. "Mission accomplished!"

Amy, who was now blushing scarlet, sank down in her seat. _Just a few more pages…. _

**Stuck in a pit, a crowd of people laughing at her.**

"At least _Ian _wasn't laughing at you," Dan whispered.

Again, he was whacked with the book.

**But this was **_**real. **_

"**So," Eisenhower Holt called down. "Is this what you brats were looking for?**

Dan gritted his teeth.

**Is this the Maze of Bones?"**

"Why, yes; Amy _is _reading _The Maze of Bones!" _Natalie said.

**Her heart fluttered. "What – what do you mean?"**

"**Oh, come on, missy!**

Dan threw up his hands. "It never ends!"

**We know all about the Maze of Bones. We read the **_**Almanack."**_

"**You have the book? But, Irina –"**

"**Stole it from us," Eisenhower growled. **

"That was kind of embarrassing," Hamilton mumbled.

"**After we stole it from the old Korean dude. So we staked out her headquarters, but **_**you **_**got inside before we could launch an assault.**

"We probably saved your lives," Dan said, brushing off his shoulder as if it was no big deal.

**Now you've got the book, and you came here, which means you know something."**

"**But we don't have the book!" Amy said. "We didn't even get a chance to –"**

"**Oh, come on," Hamilton said. His greased blond hair gleamed in the night.**

Hamilton self-consciously touched his hair. "Is it noticeable?"

Sinead rolled her eyes. "Never seen a Tomas so self-conscious."

"But I have seen Ekats who are so nosey," he countered, still fuming from the water incident.

"**It was right there on page fifty-two – **_**BF: Maze of Bones, coordinates in the box. **_**It was your mom's handwriting. Dad recognized it." **

"That's kind of creepy that your dad recognized their moms writing," Jonah said.

"Creeper," Phoenix nodded.

The Holts all frowned.

**Amy's whole body was trembling. She hated it, but she couldn't stop. The Holts had read farther in the book than she had. They'd found another message from her mother: **_**Maze of Bones, coordinates in the box. **_**She understood the Maze of Bones part, at least she feared that she did…**

"You knew about the Catacombs?" Dan asked.

Amy shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

"Uh-huh," Dan said, glaring at her with suspicion.

**But coordinates in a box?**

"**I – I don't know what that means," she said. "We don't have the book. But if you let us out of here, maybe I could –"**

"**Yeah, right!" Madison sneered. "Like we'd help you!"**

Madison blushed.

"Don't worry, it's not like I'd tell Hamilton about the shrine to Cody Simpson on your iPod," Amy smirked. Madison paled as Hamilton and Jonah grinned.

"_You're like my favorite song on the radio, radio, radio, radio – I could listen to it all day!" _ They began to sing. _"You're like a music video, video, vid- vid- video – I could look at you all day!" _

"YOU'RE A DEAD WOMAN, AMY!" Madison yelled. "Just you wait…" She sunk down in her seat.

Amy shrugged. "I'll be waiting."

**They started laughing at her again – the entire Holt clan, making fun of her.**

"**Please, stop," she whispered. "Don't…"**

"The feels…" Phoenix whispered, clutching his chest.

Dan smiled. "OMG do you have a Tumblr?!"

"Tumblr?" Ian mumbled. What the bloody hell was a Tumblr…?

"Yes!" Phoenix laughed. "ThePhoenixWizard."

Dan smiled. "DanTheNinjaCahill."

Reagan rolled her eyes. "You aren't a ninja. More of a… Pomeranian."

Dan blushed.

"Deagan," Jonah whispered to Hamilton and Ian. "I ship it."

Hamilton shook his head. "Nope, Natan/Datalie."

Ian chuckled, and the three boys looked up. Natalie was glaring wickedly, like she was about to murder Hamilton. As Reagan and Dan argued, she hissed across the table, "Datalie shall _not _cannon!"

Fiske and Alistair exchanged looks of horror. Fiske cleared his throat and the room fell silent. "Amy, if you will _please _read!"

Amy snickered. "Sure, unless Pomeranian here –"

"I AM NOT A POMERANIAN!" Dan yells.

"_Amy."_

"Got it!"

"**Aw, she's gonna cry." Hamilton grinned. "Man, you two are pathetic. I can't believe you got past the fire and the bomb."**

Sinead's thoughts lingered on setting him on fire and seeing how he liked it.

Hamilton traced the Tomas emblem on the table with his finger, not looking up at Dan, Amy, or the Starlings.

"_**What?" **_**Dan yelled. **_**"You **_**burned down Grace's mansion? **_**You **_**set that bomb off in the museum?"**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Madison asked.

"It means he didn't think you oafs were smart enough," Natalie thought, but she kept her mouth shut, while Dan shrugged.

"**To slow you down," Eisenhower admitted. "We should've beaten you up in person. Sorry about that."**

Dan choked on spit. "DID EISENHOWER JUST APOLOGIZE!? TO ME?!"

Hamilton frowned, so much like his father.

"Plus, that would've been child abuse, right?" Phoenix yawned.

"Not if _we _squashed the little runt," Madison said.

Dan paled. "We're working together, so –"

"Danison!" Hamilton and Jonah cheered. Even Phoenix chuckled.

Ian raised an eyebrow and sipped his tea as Natalie's eyes flared with temporary rage. Oh, how he could torture his sister…

**Dan threw a rock, but it sailed harmlessly between Reagan's legs.**

"That's sad, Dan-o," Hamilton said, shaking his head.

Dan's face was permanently scarlet.

"**You morons! Get us OUT of here!"**

"Why would they get you out if you called them morons?" Phoenix wondered aloud.

Jonah smirked. "I was thinking the same thing, Lil Cuz."

**Reagan frowned, but Madison and Hamilton started yelling back at Dan. **

"How shocking," Ian muttered, sipping his tea.

Hamilton knocked the tea cup out of his hand and tea spilled on his shirt. Ian didn't start screaming about how it was burning his skin, or how this shirt was brand new and imported from Italy. He just looked at Hamilton and said, "What a waste of tea."

"Spoken like a true Brit," Alistair chuckled.

Ian nodded his head and picked up a napkin. "Oh, continue, Love."

"I'm not your –"

"Whatever you say, Love."

She frowned and continued:

**Arnold barked. Amy knew this was getting them nowhere. They had to convince the Holts to let them out, but she couldn't make her voice work. She wanted to curl into a ball and hide.**

**Then the ground shook. There was a rumbling sound like a large engine. The Holts turned toward the street and looked astonished by whatever they saw.**

"That's usual, isn't it?" Natalie hisses at Hamilton, still steaming from the Datalie comment.

"**You – little – tricksters!" **

Dan folded his arms. "We prefer ninjas."

"You prefer ninja; I like…"

"Love –" Ian spoke up.

"No!" Amy said.

"– can –"

"No!"

"– you –"

"Ian!"

"– hand –"

"What?!"

"CAN YOU HAND ME A BLOODY NAPKIN?! MY CHEST IS STICKING TO MY SHIRT AND, BLOODY HELL, I DON'T LIKE IT!"

The whole house was silent. Saladin came running up and Ian held out a finger.

"I am _not _in the mood, Cat."

"There was a lot of bloody's in that sentence," Hamilton mumbled, leaning away from Ian.

Amy paused and blinked. "Er, sure…." She stood up and handed him the whole roll.

Natalie was cracking up. "You'll _never _get her that way.

"Ok, you all, let's calm down," Alistair said. "Only a few more pages." He looked at Fiske. "Why not us, instead of Nellie?"

Amy picked the book back up.

**Eisenhower glared down at them. "This was an ambush, wasn't it?"**

"As if we'd work with the Kabras," Dan snorted. "Well, _I _wouldn't." He snickered.

Amy hit him again with the book.

"**What're you talking about?" Dan asked. **

"**A truck is blocking the gates!" Mary-Todd said. "A cement truck." **

"**Dad, look," Reagan said nervously. "They've got shovels."**

Madison sighed. "Reagan being weak – _again!" _

Reagan punched her arm. "AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"GIRLS!" Ted laid a hand on the table. "I'm sexy, I know, but stop fighting over me!"

Hamilton and the two other Starlings snickered as the twins turned scarlet.

**Amy's danger sense started tingling. **

"It does that when you get in crowds, Amy," Natalie shrugged.

Amy blushed.

**Dan turned toward her, and she could tell he was thinking the same thing.**

"**They're going to fill the hole," Dan said. "Aren't they?"**

"The plan," Ian said coolly, "was to have the Holt's fall in first and then you two try to help them out. Then the Lucian officers will throw you two in the hole and then cover all of you in cement."

Everyone turned and stared except Natalie, who was playing Temple Run on her phone. Ian shrugged. "Is there any more tea?"

**She nodded weakly.**

"Oh, there is?" Ian smiled that dazzling Kabra smile.

"No, it's a line…" Amy said.

"Oh." Ian pouted.

"**Mr. Holt!" Dan started jumping like Arnold the dog, but he couldn't reach the top of the pit. **

Arnold bounded over, his paws on the table and slobbering all over Amy, who look disgusted. He licked her arm and left to slobber over something else.

"Ew."

"**Come on, you've got to get us out! We'll help you!"**

"By knocking us out," Hamilton chuckled.

**Mr. Holt snorted. "You led us into this! Besides, you runts can't fight."**

Dan sighed. "'Runt' is better than 'brat'."

"**Dad," Reagan said. "Maybe we should –"**

"There you go being soft again!" Madison said.

Reagan shoved Madison out of her chair and stormed upstairs.

Ted shook his head. "That was mean."

"NICE BISCUITS!" Jonah called up to Reagan.

Hamilton just shook his head.

"**Shut up, sis," Hamilton growled. "We can handle this!"**

Hamilton traced the crest again.

"**Reagan!" Dan yelled. "Come on! Tell them to let us out."**

"Deagan," Jonah whispered to Phoenix, but he didn't snicker at that ship.

"Datalie's better," he murmured.

**Reagan just knit her eyebrows and stared at the ground. **

"Deagan has _Titanic_-ed," Phoenix said.

Jonah reached in his jacket and pulled out sunglasses. He put them on. "No, we just" he snatched them _"submarined."_

Dan snickered. "Why do you guys ship me with every girl here?"

"There is one Cahill out there who ships Dan and Amy," Hamilton muttered, chuckling.

Amy frowned. "No."

Dan smirked at Hamilton. "The Janus branch ships Hamead."

The Ekat and Tomas exchanged looks of pure hatred.

"THAT SHIP WILL NOT CANNON!" Jonah said, getting in between them on his good leg before they murder each other. "READ, AMY!"

**Dan looked at Amy desperately. "You gotta do something. Tell them you can figure out the book!"**

**But the words wouldn't come. Amy felt like she was already covered in cement. Her brother needed her. She had to say something. But she just stood there, frozen and helpless and hating herself for being so scared.**

"**HEEEY!" Dan yelled up.**

"See?!" Jonah said to Phoenix. "She doesn't _scream it in my ear!"_

Phoenix snickers. "Oh well."

"**Amy knows what the clue means! She'll tell you if you let us out!"**

"See?" Dan mumbled. "Dan had to save the day…"

Only Amy and Natalie heard that – Natalie pinched him with her delicate perfectly done fingers; Amy blushed.

**Mr. Holt scowled. Amy knew he wouldn't go for it. They'd be stuck down here forever, cemented in. Then Mr. Holt stripped off his war-up jacket and lowered it into the pit. "Grab the sleeve."**

"If they made a movie about us," Madison said, "Chris Hemsworth should play Dad."

Sinead giggled. "He's too old for you." But she got a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Holy Janus," Hamilton grumbled.

"But just imagine Chris Hemsworth offering you his jacket to get you out of a pit," Sinead said.

All the girls giggled. All the guys groaned.

"Ok, well if Chris Hemsworth is playing Eisenhower, we want ANGELINA JOLIE for Isabel!" Jonah smirked.

The girls just shook their heads. "Immature little boys," Natalie sighed.

"How come it's okay when _they _do it, but when _we _do it, we're little boys?!" Hamilton complained.

"Men have been trying to understand this since the beginning of time. No one is sure," Fiske said in his most serious voice.

**Within seconds, Amy and Dan were out of the pit,**

"Chris Hemsworth could do that," Natalie giggled.

**Sure enough, a cement truck had blocked the gates of the cemetery. Six thugs in coveralls and hard hats were lined up at the fence, hefting shovels like they were ready to fight. **

"**All right, team," Mr. Holt said with relish.**

"That green stuff?" Dan asked.

"No, it means 'great enjoyment'," Jonah informed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry, not all of us are related to 3.5 million authors," Dan said sarcastically.

"**Let's show 'em how it's done – Holt style!" **

Jonah snickered. "That sounds so bad…"

Hamilton glared.

"If I wasn't scared of Eisenhower, I would've said Ninja style," Dan whispered.

"You mean Chris Hemsworth," Natalie said.

"NO, I mean Eisenhower!"

**The whole family rushed forward. Mr. Holt grabbed the first thug's shovel and swung it, with the guy still attached, into the side of the cement truck. **_**CLANG! **_

Natalie winced. "Ow…"

**The girls, Madison and Reagan, plowed into one thug so hard he flew across the street and crashed through the window of a flower shop.**

"How…?" Ted asked, confused.

**Arnold bit the third thug in the leg and held on with jaws of iron. Mary-Todd and Hamilton tackled the fourth thug against the chute on the back of the truck. His head hit a lever and cement started spilling all over the street.**

"Aw, you needed Mommy's help?" Jonah pouted.

Hamilton shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

Jonah frowned. He expected a better reaction.

**Unfortunately, two thugs remained, and they ran straight for Amy and Dan. Fear closed around Amy's throat. She recognized their faces – they were the security guards from the Lucian stronghold.**

"You guys need better security guards," Fiske muttered.

"Trust me, once Father steps down and I become the leader, we will," Ian said.

Everyone turned.

"Bro, you scare me sometimes," Jonah said.

Ian smirked. "That's the best thing that's ever came out of your American mouth."

He frowned once more.

Quickly, Amy tucked a strand of reddish-brown hair behind her ear and quickly red. The sound of his voice made her heart skip a beat, and it also made her blush so she ducked down behind the book.

**Before she could even think of a plan, Dan unzipped his backpack and took out his blinking silver sphere. **

"Oh, _this _won't end well," Natalie muttered, blinking widely to keep awake. "My, Lord! It's almost ten! I _need _my beauty sleep, Amy. Hurry!"

"Two more pages, Natalie; just chill!"

"**Dan, no!" Amy said. "You can't –" But he did.**

"Rebel," Ned snickered to Ted.

**As much as he loved baseball, Dan was the world's worst pitcher. **

Dan pouted. "Hey!"

"Sorry," Amy shrugged, "but, you're awful."

"Thanks for helping my self-esteem," he grumbles.

**The sphere sailed right past the two guys who were charging them and exploded under Mr. Holt's feet with a blinding yellow flash. The noise was like the world's largest snare drum being smashed with a sledgehammer.**

The Janus's in the room winced.

**Amy went cross-eyed.**

Natalie snickered.

**When she regained her senses, she saw the entire Holt family and the guys they'd been battling flat on the ground, knocked unconscious – except for the two thugs Dan **_**meant **_**to hit. **

Madison shot Dan a dirty look, who gave one right back.

**They were only dazed, stumbling around and shaking their heads.**

**Amy turned to Dan in horror. "What did you **_**do?" **_

**Dan looked surprised. "Um, concussive grenade, I think. Like the one at the museum! I knocked them out." **

"Why, thank you, Captain Obvious!" Amy muttered.

Sinead rolled her eyes at Hamilton, who frowned.

"We're all sleep deprived," Alistair said to Fiske, who nodded in agreement.

**The two thugs who were still on their feet blinked a few times, then refocused on Dan and Amy. They didn't look happy.**

Ian smirked; Amy blushed.

"**Run!" Dan pulled Amy behind the mausoleum, but there was nowhere to go – just another iron fence, and a few yards behind that, the back of a building – brick wall, thirty feet high.**

"Hmm, can you say 'screwed'?" Phoenix said.

**Desperately, they climbed the fence anyway. Amy's shirt got stuck on the top, but Dan pulled her free. **

Natalie scowled. "It was from Gap, wasn't it?"

Amy blushed redder than a rose.

**Together they pressed against the back wall. There was no alley. No exit. They were trapped. If only they had a weapon… and them Amy realized her brain wasn't paralyzed by fear anymore.**

"Shocking," Ian smirked.

That smirk – that irritating, cute, annoying little sliver that made his face look like he was the best thing ever. In his mind, he was; in Amy's heart, he was too. She ducked under her book, not bothering to retaliate.

**The explosion had snapped her back to her senses. She knew what they needed. "Dan, the Franklin battery!"**

"She read about it," Sinead said mid-yawn. Then Jonah yawned, and Hamilton, and Ian.

"We're next, Amy," Dan yawned.

Amy yawned as well.

"**What good will **_**that **_**do?" **

**She ripped open his backpack and took out the battery. Two thugs approached warily – probably wondering whether Dan had more grenades.**

"Yes, because I just stock up on them," Dan muttered.

**Amy uncoiled the battery's copper wires and made sure the ends were stripped. "I hope it has charge." **

"**What're you doing?" Dan asked.**

"**Franklin used to do this for fun," she said. "To startle his friends. Maybe if it's got enough juice…"**

"Coconut juice?"

"Orange juice?"

"Apple juice?"

"Grapefruit juice?"

"Strawberry juice?"

Amy mentally face-palmed.

**The men were at the fence. One of them snarled something in French. It sounded like an order to surrender. Amy shook her head. **

"Uh-oh, rebellious streak!" Jonah gasped.

**The men began to climb, and Amy leaped forward. She touched the wires against the fence and the men yelped in surprise. Blue sparks flew off the metal bars. Smoke curled from the men's hands and they fell backwards, stunned.**

"Well just electrocute the fellows, why don't you?!" Alistair said.

**Amy threw down the battery.**

"**Come on!" she yelled.**

**In a heartbeat, they were over the fence. They raced out of the graveyard, past the unconscious Holts, the thugs, and the overturned cement truck. **

"Thanks," Madison muttered.

**Amy felt a twinge of guilt leaving the Holts behind unconscious, but they had no choice. **

Madison thought, "There is always a choice."

**They didn't stop running until they were halfway across the Pont Louis-Philippe. Amy doubled over, gasping for breath.**

"At least you don't have asthma," Dan told her.

**At last they were safe. They'd survived the trap. **

"Like always," Sinead mumbled.

**But when she looked back, she saw something that scared her worse than the graveyard. Standing in the shadows at the foot of the bridge, a hundred yards back the way they'd come, was a tall gray-haired man in a black overcoat.**

**And Amy was sure he was watching them.**

Fiske bowed slightly. "Why, thank you, but I dare say, I'm not tall."

Everyone stood and Amy put the book back on the shelf where all ten books were being kept. Ian walked up.

"G'night, Love."

He did it again – sneaking up behind her and scaring her. But she turned around.

"Good night, Ian."

There was so much more she'd like to say, but she didn't want things to get awkward, so she walked off. She hugged Sinead's neck and went up to bed.

* * *

Madison Holt walked upstairs to the room she shared with Reagan and opened the door. Reagan was sitting on her twin bed by the window, typing furiously on her laptop. From what Madison could tell, she was editing what looked like a long document with bold, italicized, and regular font, but she didn't even look up when Madison entered.

"Hey…" Madison said quietly.

No response. Her lips were pursed and she had _The Maze of Bones _sitting next to her. It was open, and little notes were on the margins and in between the lines.

"Rea?" she tried.

"What do you want?" Reagan asked, looking furiously over at Madison. She rolled her eyes and continued typing.

Her hair looked like she had just dried it and she had on the pajamas they had gotten in Australia.

"I'm sorry for calling you weak," Madison said, sitting on her sister's bed.

"Save your breath," Reagan grumbled. When she noticed Madison was reading it, she hit SAVE and closed it out. Shutting down her laptop, she unplugged it and set it on the bookshelf. "Good night, Madison."

"But –"

"_Good night, _Madison." She clicked out the lamp light, got under the covers, and turned with her back to Madison.

Madison stood there, not knowing what to do. Her phone buzzed and Dan sent her a text that said: "NO MEETING TONIGHT". She figured as much. She could hear Hamilton and Jonah next door snoring as she turned on the shower.

With Reagan being mad at her… who else did she have?


	15. 50 Shades of Red

**Chapter 15**

**AN: For everyone who says the ship might sink, this is only Chapter 15 and we haven't even found out what plan **_**Amian **_**is! Please give it time! And only one person got that Reagan was writing this! **

**And y'all thought Tomas's couldn't write! :D**

* * *

_Day 3 of my imprisonment:_

_My human's grandchildren and their fellow peasants are reading this blue book with skulls and rubbish on the cover. I am not amused with their attempts to be funny, considering they interrupt each other constantly. The rudeness of this is despicable! Then there is that Lucian boy._

_He is a constant reminder of why I despise Lucians – and, how I dread to say it, the granddaughter seems to have feelings for which kinds of punishments I inflict upon him when I must. He's arrogant, and that sister of his is no better! They refuse to feed me anything that comes from the Cold-Box and they ignore me! When I was in the kitchen last night around 3:42 AM to be blunt, the boy was there. I simply asked if he would kindly open the door and fetch me some fresh snapper, but did he?_

_No! He looked at me as if I were a mere rodent and told me to "shoo". So I merely knocked his tea cup off the counter. He yelled at me and I even contemplated gorging his eyes out. I _am _a master sushi maker. The grandson would've been so delighted. _

_We've all been trapped inside this house, staying with these other foul creatures until the humans read all ten books! Personally, I'm already on the last two chapters of the green one, and me and my dear Pup-Pup have been searching thoroughly for the next one – the red one I smelled on the Lucian boy. I presume it must be in his dormitory (that is, where he resides and sleeps), but I am only a mere cat, who had no thumbs to open it. Pup-Pup tried his heart out, but all we managed with his plans were simply a slobbery door knob. Hopefully I can find a ball to throw to Pup-Pup. The poor fellow must have something wrong with his brain. _

_He drools everywhere he goes, and he runs like moose! He has never heard of the word 'gentle'. Then again, he is the Tomas's dog. I cannot blame him for being an oaf. His boy master is quite intelligent. The smaller blond needs some work, but the other one is brutal towards her. I might have to hiss at her if she keeps it up. The smaller one is delightful though. She fed me everything she cooked the humans for dinner, but I never heard a thank you from any of them! I must talk with the grandchildren about this._

_I fear I may have to get used to no fresh snapper for a little while. We may be stuck here for a while. It has been three days and they are still on book one! Once I finish the last two chapters tonight (for I fear I'm turning nocturnal. Pup-Pup is having some problems adjusting to our late night reading schedules, but we have manages to hide away and sleep in the library, for we must keep up our strengths), I shall confront the Lucian boy about my next book. The story is quite thrilling, to be honest. Some things I must work on – like the codes at the bottom of the pages. Madame Grace, I'm very sorry, but I am out of practice. I must practice on the other books. I was too slow for the blue book, but for the green book I feel that I have almost cracked it. I only have until they finish those few five chapters, and I fear I must finish it tonight! Oh, Madame Grace – this code will be for your memory. I do miss you._

_I must go now. I think I also hear the slight taps of keyboard clicks. Since I have to no thumbs to hold a pen, I must type with my claws. I have grown quiet fond of this computer in the study. No one else uses it, but me and Pup-Pup. We watch funny human videos on CatTube!_

_I'm getting lost. My poor old age… I'm afraid I shall be seeing you soon, Madame Grace! _

_Farewell, until tomorrow night,_

_Saladin _

The cat pressed the save button and typed "Saladin3". Once it was successfully saved, he gently leaped out of his chair and onto the floor.

"_Mrrp," _he called to Arnold, and the two buddies walked downstairs to retrieve their book, and to crack the code.

* * *

The next morning, Ian Kabra awoke to find himself sitting up in his bed, previously doodling Amy's name in pen on the margin of _The Sword Thief. _

Bleary-eyed, he popped his back and stretched. There was a grey and white fat ball on the edge of his bed… He blinked a couple of times and rubbed his amber eyes.

The cat was lying on his bed, looking at the open _One False Note _as if he were reading it.

Ian watched momentarily before pinching himself. He had to be dreaming. Cats couldn't _read. _

Saladin took his tongue and turned the page.

Ian's jaw dropped. The cat _was _reading! Saladin held his head up and flicked its tail at Ian. Arnold snored in the floor. Ian Kabra was frozen in his bed, trapped by the Moose-Dog and the Cat.

He pinched himself over and over until he realized Saladin had just closed the book with his paw. The cat looked down at Arnold and let out a slight _"Mrrp"_. The dog woke up, shook himself awake, put the book in his mouth, and the two animals trotted off.

Ian blinked. The cat had just ordered the 95 pound pit bull to carry his book…

He put his feet on the floor and rubbed his face. He had too much tea last night…

* * *

When Madison woke up, Reagan was gone. Her bed was made, and she had taken her laptop and the book she had with her. Madison inwardly pouted.

She got dressed and went downstairs to find that Reagan was the first one up, typing away as she had done last night. Madison sat next to her. "Hey, sorry about last night."

Reagan just grunted and continued typing, barely looking up.

"Rea…"

Reagan looked up. She had her glasses on this morning, her blond hair pulled back in a half-pulled-through-pony-tail, and she looked like she was about to pass out. "Oh, hey, Maddi."

Madison blinked. She had expected Reagan to attempt to launch her 4 miles east, but she just smiled.

"So, what are you typing up?" Madison asked.

Reagan shrugged. "Something for Isabel. She asked me the night we got here."

"Isabel?!" Madison gasped. "You're helping _her?" _

"Just with typing up some things she needs. Maybe I can ask her if you can help."

Madison smiled. "Maybe you're not so weak after all." Reagan beamed.

Jonah came downstairs, hobbling, and Madison had to sprint to catch him when he almost fell. She snickered. "Nice job, Janus."

He grumbled thanks and asked if she could help him make breakfast. So while Madison and Jonah cooked and Reagan typed her little heart out, slowly (but surely), Cahills began to make their way down. It was decided as they were eating breakfast that Hamilton Holt would read.

"Why me?" he whined. "Can I not eat in peace?!" He took the book off of the shelf and opened it. He sighed and stuffed pancake in his mouth. Once he was done, after scarfing it down, he counted the pages. "Fifteen pages?!"

"It's one less than mine," Amy offered, but a morning Holt is never a happy Holt.

**Dan thought Nellie was going to kill them. He'd never seen her face that shade of red before.**

Phoenix and Jonah grinned.

"Amaranth?"

"Auburn?"

"Fire brick?"

"Redwood?"

"Flame?"

"Rose?"

"Burgundy?"

"Rosewood?"

"Lust?"

"Scarlet?"

"Candy apple?"

"Cardinal?"

"Crimson?"

"OK IT WAS A SCARLET/CANDY APPLE!" Dan yelled, very annoyed.

"Whoa, who crapped in your corn flakes?"

Dan huffed. "I wanna go back to bed."

"Look," Fiske said, his gray hair standing on in from his restless night, "we will finish this book today and start the second one tomorrow."

"About that," Ian spoke up, standing. He walked over and laid the book in front of Fiske. "We need a new copy." He opened the book and showed him the slobbered-on pages and the teeth marks on the cover. "I know my sister – she won't hold it or read it, and I doubt any of the girls will. I can barely read it because the ink has run. You need to tell someone watching us."

"Me?" Fiske asked, handing him the book back to put on the shelf. "Why me?"

"Because I refuse to talk to that witch that gave birth to me!" Ian growled, and then he closed his lips tight. Natalie winced.

Ian put the book on the bottom shelf and sat back down. "Continue; I have other things to do."

"**You did **_**what?" **_**She paced their tiny hotel room. "Two hours, you said. **_**Two hours. **_**And I was standing outside the hotel for, like, **_**ever**_**, and you didn't come. You didn't call. I thought you were dead!"**

Jonah raised his hands in mock surrender. "Watch out! Nellie gone Terminator!"

**She shook her iPod for emphasis and the loose earbuds danced around. **

"**Our phone didn't work," Amy said sheepishly.**

Sinead looked up. "_Your _phone?"

Amy blushed.

"**We got sidetracked," Dan added. "There was this concussive grenade, and a cement truck, and a battery. And a loaf of bread."**

"Just to be blunt," the flawless Natalie said. She had woken up at 5:30 and got all dolled up – the perfect make up, with the perfect hair, and the perfect dress and flats. Not that she was trying to impress anyone, but she was going to _marry _a Cahill, and it might as well be a blond headed cutie who was obsessed with ninjas… She unintentionally twisted her hair around her finger.

**Dan was pretty sure he had covered all of the important details, but Nellie looked like she didn't understand. **

"Who would?" Phoenix said.

"**Start from the beginning," she said. "And **_**no lies." **_

"No, that's Lucians," Reagan smirked.

Madison nodded in agreement.

Ian and Natalie rolled their eyes and frowned.

"You two good now?" Hamilton asked, the twin girls.

They twins exchanged a secret look that is only kept by sisters, and nodded at Hamilton. "Yeah," they said simultaneously.

**Maybe it was just because he was too tired to lie,**

"Ha," Ian scoffed. "I should've known you weren't Lucian right then."

**but Dan told her the whole story – even about the thirty-nine clues – with Amy filling in the stuff he forgot. **

"As usual," Alistair muttered towards Fiske, and they shared a hearty laugh.

"**So you almost died," Nellie said in a small voice. "Those jerks were going to pour cement on you."**

Ian frowned. "We aren't jerks…"

"No, you're right," Dan said. Natalie beamed inwardly. "You're British supermodels."

Ian frowned, but Natalie hugged Dan. "That's the most wonderful thing that has ever come out of your American mouth!"

Dan's face burned red. "Nat! Get off me!"

She instantly let go and smoothed her dress, blushing.

"Natan," Hamilton whispered.

"Datalie," Jonah whispered back.

"Half of the ship sails itself."

"Indeed."

"**Maybe a little cement," Dan said. **

Ian scoffed slightly.

"**What did the inscription say?" Nellie asked.**

**Dan didn't know any French, but he'd automatically memorized the words on the marble slab. He repeated them to Nellie.**

"So _Dan _speaks French now?" Sinead said.

"Did you not hear what I said?" Hamilton asked, instantly annoyed that the stupid Ekaterina spoke. "The book said, 'Dan didn't know any French…'" He glared at Sinead.

Sinead face looked annoyed.

"'**Here lie Amy and Dan Cahill,'" she translated, "'who stuck their noses into the wrong people's business.'"**

"Ok, so my translation was a little off," Jonah admitted, shrugging.

"**It was Irina Spasky's fault!" Dan said.**

Ian mentally face-palmed.

"**She tricked us into going there. The whole thing was a setup!"**

_He may be a bit slow,_ Natalie thought, _but he's still adorable. _

"**And we can't even pay you," Amy added miserably. "We don't have enough money for the flight home. I'm… I'm really sorry, Nellie."**

All the girls in the room shared a collective "Awwww….."

All the guys in the room rolled their eyes and mimicked the girls with annoyance. The girls glared.

**Nellie stood very still. Her glitter eye shadow was red today, which made her eyes look even angrier.**

"ANGRY BIRDS!" Jonah and Phoenix cheered.

**Her arms were crossed over her T-shirt, which showed a picture of a screaming punk rocker. **

"Creepy Creeper from Creepsville!" Ned scoffed, flipping his imaginary hair.

"Oh, _totally!" _ Ted scoffed back.

Sinead pouted.

**All in all, she looked pretty scary. Then she grabbed Amy and Dan and hugged the fiercely.**

Dan blushed.

**She knelt down so she was looking them in the eyes. "I've got some credit left on my MasterCard. We'll be fine."**

Hamilton put his hands over his ears as the girls awed again. Phoenix banged his head on the table.

**Dan was confused. "But… you're not going to kill us?"**

"**I'm going to help you, stupid." Nellie shook his shoulders gently. "Nobody messes with my babysitees."**

"Au pairees," Dan corrected.

"**Au pairees," Dan corrected. **

Dan gasped. "I know myself so well!"

Natalie twiddled her thumbs. _Maybe there's some Lucian serum to give him brains…_

"**Whatever! Now get some sleep.**

Hamilton grumbled something about being woken up too early.

**Tomorrow we're going to slap some peoples senseless."**

Hamilton looked miserable. "Why…?"

"Just read and stop whining!" Madison complained. "I'm glad you're about to go to college in three years so you'll stop being grumpy around us!"

Hamilton shot her a look. "Oh, you'll miss me."

"Where are you going?"

"Where _is _he going, you mean?" Reagan said. Hamilton shot her a look. "He's going to Notre Dame, and he's taking classes at the local college nearby our house without Mom or Dad knowing. They think he's at work, but he's been working the nightshift until three in the morning, getting four hours of sleep, and then dragging himself to school."

Hamilton looked fit to kill.

The intercom turned on. "What was that, Honey?" Mary-Todd asked.

"Oh, hey, Mom!" Reagan said bubbly. "Hamilton is –"

For one of the few times in his life, Hamilton blushed and hid behind the book.

"Is my little boy going to college classes? And he didn't even tell us?"

"Kill me," he hissed at Jonah. "Shoot me in the back of the head, and get it over with."

"Sorry, bro," Jonah said. "I'm not."

Mary-Todd laughed. "Well why didn't you tell us? We would've paid for you to go! We'll work something out when you get back, honey-sugar-plum."

Hamilton winced, slinking down in his chair.

"Sugarnut, stop embarrassing him," Eisenhower said in the background.

"But, Snicker doodle! Our little boy is growing up!"

"Little? He stands a head or two above most everyone there! Stop embarrassing him!"

"Ugh. Bye, Baby!" The intercom clicked off.

Hamilton's face was beat red, and he looked like he was going to die.

"You should be used to it by now, Ham. They yell it at every game. 'THAT'S MY PUMKY!'" Reagan and Madison mimicked.

Dan snickered. "You're parents are insane."

"You don't have to go out in public with them," Hamilton mumbled, his head down. He sat up, still red.

Jonah smiled and punched him on his shoulder. "I guess I'll have to think more highly of Tomas's now!" he beamed.

Hamilton gave a weak smile. "Thanks…" And, no matter how embarrassed he was, he was more embarrassed that he might not get to play football because he had to _read._

**Maison des Gardons did not mean the house of gardens. **

"Should've listened to me and Nellie," Jonah said matter-of-factly.

**Apparently, **_**gardons **_**meant roaches.**

Natalie's eyes went wide. "Ew!" she squeaked.

**Dan found this out because Nellie told him, and because he heard scuttling sounds along the floor all night long. **

Saladin jumped on the table in front of Ian, who sneezed. Saladin shot him his dirty cat look, and began to lick his paw.

**He wished Saladin was there. The cat would've had a great time playing jungle stalker.**

Saladin frowned mid-lick at Hamilton, who took no notice and continued reading.

**In the morning, everybody looked bleary-eyed, but they showered and changed clothes. **

"I know the feeling," Dan said, trying to flatten his wild blond hair, but he was still in his pajamas.

**Nellie came back from the corner café with coffee for herself, hot chocolate for Dan and Amy, and **_**pain au chocolat**_** for all of them.**

"You two shared a hot chocolate?" Reagan asked.

"Chocolate bread?!" Jonah pouted. "Lucky…"

"No, Reagan…" Amy said with her eyebrow raised. "We didn't share…"

"I know!" Dan laughed. He could still taste Paris's bread.

**Dan figured any country that ate chocolate for breakfast couldn't be all that bad. **

"See?" Natalie said. "We Lucians do have some things going for us."

Dan nodded.

"**So," Dan said, "can I get some more grenades today?" **

Amy popped him in the arm.

"I'VE BEEN HIT! SISTER ABUSE!" He faked fainting.

"**No!" Amy said. "Dan, you're lucky it was only concussive. You could've wiped out the whole Holt family."**

"**And that would've been bad because…?"**

Madison and Reagan Holt shot looks at Dan and when no one was looking, Madison made a rude hand gesture quickly.

Dan frowned. "Did no one else see that?!"

Phoenix chuckled and high fived Reagan.

"Pheagan," Jonah said.

"Roenix?" Hamilton tried.

"Pheagan is better. Pheagan Hizard."

The two glared, but blushed.

Dan immediately sent out a text to Natalie, the twins, and Phoenix: 2NITE N STUDY. CODE NAME: HEDWIG.

All of their phones went off, but Ian and Hamilton only heard the girls since Phoenix's was on silent.

"Do we have a _player _on our hands?!" Hamilton asked, setting down the book.

"I have some poison upstairs we could use," Ian offered.

"We may need it."

Dan went pale. "I sent it to Phoenix too…"

"So you're bringing my little cousin in on your little _player schemes?!" _Jonah asked.

Reagan giggled. "I love Harry Potter!"

"Your 'Quidditch Stick'?" Hamilton said.

"Your 'Chamber of Secrets'?" Ian said.

"Or 'Slytherin'?" Jonah frowned.

Natalie was cracking up. Amy and everyone else were utterly confused and snickering at the older brothers.

"It's sad you know this many pick-up lines about Harry Potter…" Sinead snickered.

"Yes," Natalie laughed. "Spot on, Ian! Because, you know – thirteen and pregnant!" She faked a laugh and her face went as cold as stone. "We were saying about how you could've played Harry Potter, this Evan boy would be Ron, and Amy would be Hermione and Evan would get the girl. But, you know, _Evan _might like to Sly –"

"OKAY!" Amy stepped up. "Let get off of Harry Potter!"

"She even has Crookshanks!" Reagan said, giggling at Saladin.

The older brothers and Jonah's face burned red.

"Hamilton, please…" Alistair said. You could see the wrinkles on his forehead growing by the days with them.

"**Okay, knock it off," Nellie said. **

"See? She has some sense!" Sinead said to Amy, nodding towards Hamilton, Jonah, and Ian.

Hamilton frowned.

"**The important thing is that you guys are safe."**

**Amy picked at her croissant. She looked pale this morning. Her hair was a tangled mess. **

Natalie touched her luscious hair, horrified.

"**Dan… I'm sorry about last night.**

"I'm not doing the stutter," Hamilton said.

"Just do it!" Natalie wined.

"No." He handed the book to Jonah.

**I-I panicked.**

"Was that that hard?" Sinead asked.

Hamilton took the book back. "Be glad you're a girl."

**I almost got us killed."**

Phoenix muttered, "No sappiness…"

Reagan nodded.

**Dan had pretty much forgotten that part. He'd been annoyed with her at the time, but it was hard to stay mad when Amy looked so miserable and apologized. Plus she'd done that cool thing with the battery, which had kind of made up for her freaking out.**

Amy rolled her jade eyes.

"**Don't worry about it," he said.**

"**But if it happens again –"**

"**Hey, if we let Irina lure us into a trap again, we're stupider than the Holts."**

Madison bit her lip. That stung…

Reagan gripped her hand. "I know I'm not a genius, but we're not stupid."

Dan paled. "I'm sorry, guys…"

Madison shrugged. What was said was said.

**Amy didn't look very comforted. "What I don't understand is the man in black. Why was her there last night? And if the Holts started the fire at the mansion and set up the museum explosion –"**

"**Then what was the man in black doing in both places?" Dan finished. "And why did Irina have a photo of him?"**

"Because Fiske is Fabulous," Jonah said in his girl voice, flicking his hair.

"That was shockingly a very good girl voice…" Amy said.

Phoenix scooted away slowly.

**He waited for Amy to come up with one of her "oh-I-did-a-book-report-on-that-last-year" answers, **

She frowned.

**but she just kept frowning at her breakfast.**

"Who frowns at chocolate bread?" Ned wondered aloud.

"Dweeb," Amy muttered.

"**Maybe you guys should concentrate on where to go next," Nellie advised.**

**Amy took a deep breath. "I think I know where to go. Dan, can I use your laptop?" **

"So you _did _know!" Dan smiled.

"Of course she knew," Jonah said. "She's Amy. Amy knows everything." Amy blushed.

**He stared at her, because Amy didn't like computers. But finally he brought it over and Amy started searching the internet. **

**In no time, she grimaced and turned the screen for them to see. The picture showed a pile of bones in a dark stone room. **

"That's why Paris is Lucian territory, because it holds all of their victims," Ted whispered to Ned, who snickered.

"**I've suspected for a while," Amy said, "but I was hoping I was wrong because it's risky. **_**The Maze of Bones. **_**That's what Mom's note said in **_**Poor Richard's Almanack. **_**We have to explore the Catacombs."**

"**Is that where they keep the cats?" Dan asked.**

"Yes and the cats eat the flesh off of people's bones after they attack them with yarn," Natalie said sarcastically.

Ian had his head leaned back, eyes closed. Amy looked at Hamilton and mouthed, "Is he asleep?"

Hamilton nodded. "I read him a bedtime story," he joked around with Jonah.

Saladin hopped back on the table and looked ready to pounce on Sleeping Ian, but Amy caught the cat. "No, Saladin," she hissed.

Saladin gently nipped her hand and jumped out.

"Ow!"

Ian's head popped up, blinking widely to wake up.

"Awwww, he responds to her pain," Natalie chuckled.

Amy rubbed where Saladin bit. "He's never done that…"

Ian laid his head back, and went back to sleep.

**It seemed like a perfectly reasonable question to him, but Amy gave him a "you're-such-a-dummy" look. **

"**The Catacombs are an underground maze," she said. "I told you Paris is riddled with caves and tunnels, right? All the limestone they used to build the city, ever since the Roman days, they dug from underground, and it left a whole network of empty spaces. Some are just pits, like the one we fell into last night."**

"Ha," Madison said. "That was dug out."

"**And some of the networks are tunnels," Nellie said. "Yeah, I remember hearing about this. And they're filled with bones, right?"**

Dan felt his phone buzz silently. He checked it, and saw that it was from Reagan: Sorry, but I can't come to the meeting tonight. Phoenix has to help me with something for Isabel.

He was tempted to reply, asking what it was, but he let it go. He'd have Madison and Cobra…

He could see it now, covered in makeup and being held upside down.

"**I want a room decorated with bones!" Dan said. "Where'd they come from?"**

"**Cemeteries," Amy said. "Back in the 1700s, the cemeteries were getting overcrowded, so they decided to move them into the Catacombs. The thing is… look at the dates. See when they started moving bones into the Catacombs?"**

**Dan squinted at the screen. He didn't see what she was talking about. "Is it my birthday?"**

"Yes," Natalie mumbled sarcastically.

"**No, doofus. **_**Look. **_**1785. They didn't officially declare it open until the next year, but they started planning the project, and moving bones, in 178t5. Which was also the last year Benjamin Franklin was in Paris." **

"**Whoa. You mean –"**

"**He hid something down there." **

**It got so quiet Dan could hear roaches scuttling in the closet.**

Natalie shuttered. "_Please _no more roaches."

"Is that a roach on the wall?" Jonah pointed to a cobweb.

Natalie screamed and pulled out a gun, shooting the cobweb three times. Jonah's mouth dropped.

"Kill confirmed," Dan laughed.

"**So," Nellie said, "we have to go underground, into a maze filled with bones, and find… whatever it is."**

**Amy nodded. "Except the Catacombs are huge. We don't know where to look. The only thing I can think – there's only one public entrance. It says here it's across from the**

Hamilton handed the book to Jonah.

**Denfert-Rochereau Métro station, in the 14****th**** arrondissement."**

"Thanks," Hamilton grunted as he took the book back.

"**But if that's the only public entrance," Dan said, "then the other teams might head there, too. Everybody's been stealing that almanac from each other. They'll figure out the maze of Bones thing, if they haven't already."**

"**Good enough for me." Nellie brushed the chocolate and bread crumbs off her shirt. "Let's go meet your family."**

"Insert line thingy," Hamilton said, drawing a line in the air with his finger.

**Dan's backpack was a lot lighter today,**

"No duh," Ted thought.

**but before they left he made sure the photo of his parents was safe in the side pocket.**

Amy seemed to pale with sadness.

**His mom and dad were right where he'd left them: in their plastic photo album sheet, smiling from the top of their mountain like they hadn't minding sharing space with a Franklin battery and a grenade at all.**

From the hidden space in the house, Arthur Trent watched this and read his children – the way they seemed to pout, and grow quiet; how their eyes lost their happiness when Hope or he was mentioned.

"That's depressing –" Eisenhower tried before he was shushed.

"But it –"

Shhh…

Arthur and Eisenhower about had a go-around when he threatened Amy and Dan. Arthur knew he had more strength, but with all that weight, it would wear him down.

But Arthur was focused now.

Back downstairs….

**He wondered if they'd be proud of him for getting out of that pit last night, or if they'd be all protective like Amy: **_**You almost got yourself killed, **_**blah, blah, blah. He decided they would've been cooler than that. **

_That stung, _Amy thought. She was just… worried…

**They'd probably had tons of dangerous adventures. Maybe **_**their **_**house had an arsenal, too, before it burned down. **

"**Dan!" Amy called. "Get out of the bathroom and let's go!" **

"**Coming!" he shouted. He looked at his parents one more time. "Thanks for the note about the Maze of Bones, Mom. I won't let you down!"**

Amy teared up slightly, but forced the tears to go away before any one (especially that Lucian) noticed.

**He slipped the photo back in his pack and went to join Amy and Nellie.**

"Another line thingy…"

**They weren't out of Denfert-Rochereau Métro station two minutes before they spotted Uncle Alistair. **

Alistair seemed to sit up straighter at the mention of his name.

**He was kind of hard to miss in his cherry-red suit and canary-yellow ascot, his diamond tipped cane swinging in one hand.**

Natalie gasped. "Someone call the fashion police! Quick!"

**The old man sauntered toward them, smiling with his arms out. As he got closer, Dan noticed he had a black eye."**

"**My dear children!" **

**Nellie whopped him upside the head with her backpack.**

Jonah snickered. "Pay back for the spray bottle."

"**Ow!" Uncle Alistair curled over, cupping his hand over his good eye.**

"**Nellie!" Amy said. **

"**Sorry," Nellie muttered. "I thought he was one of the bad guys." **

"**He is," Dan agreed.**

Alistair frowned.

"**No, no," Alistair tried to smile, but all he could do was wince and blink. **

The Holt twins snickered. Even Hamilton cracked a smile.

**Dan figured the **_**other **_**eye was going to be black now thanks to that pop. Nellie's backpack was not light. "Children, please, you must believe me, I am **_**not **_**your enemy!"**

"**You stole the book from us," Dan said, "and left us for dead!"**

"The boy has a point, Alistair," Fiske said.

Alistair rolled his eyes.

"**Children, I admit it. I thought you were lost in the fire. I barely made it out myself. Fortunately, I found a latch that opened the door. I called for you, but you must have discovered another way out. I had the almanac, yes. I couldn't leave it behind. I admit I panicked when I got outside. I feared our enemies were still about, or that I would be blamed for the terrible fire. So I fled. Forgive me." **

"Hamilton, you sound funny talking like that," Dan snickered.

"I know, I sound like the Brit next to me," Hamilton said while nodding towards Ian.

**Amy's scowl softened, but Dan didn't believe this guy at all. **

"**He's lying!" Dan said. "'Trust no one,' remember?"**

"**Should I hit him again?" Nellie asked.**

Alistair flinched, and Fiske chuckled.

**Uncle Alistair flinched. "Please, listen. The Catacombs are right there." He pointed across the street to a simple building with a black facade. White letters above the door read ENTRÉE DES CATACOMBES.**

"That was easy," Hamilton thought.

**The street around it looked like a normal neighborhood – townhouses, apartments, pedestrians on their way to work. It was hard to believe a maze of dead people lay right underneath.**

"**I must speak with you before you go in," Alistair insisted. "All I ask is ten minutes. You are in grave danger."**

"Is that a pun?" Jonah said, joking around with Alistair.

Alistair didn't laugh.

"_**Grave **_**danger," Dan grumbled. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"**

Dan and Jonah snickered.

"**Dan…" Amy put her hand on his arm. "Maybe we should listen to him. Ten minutes. What do we have to lose?"**

**Dan could think of a lot of things, but Alistair smiled. **

"**Thank you, my dear. There is a café just here. Shall we?"**

"ANOTHER line!" Hamilton sighed. "And a million more pages!"

**Alistair was buying, so Dan ordered an early lunch – a turkey-and-cheese sandwich with ships and a large Coke, which for some weird reason was delivered in a glass with no ice. Nellie spoke with the waiter in French for a long time and ordered some exotic gourmet thing. The waiter was impressed with her choice, **

"Probably because he thought she was hot," Jonah grumbled.

"Do I hear _jealousy?" _Amy asked, smirking.

"Jellie?!" Hamilton asked.

Jonah smiled.

AND NODDED.

"I'd ship us," Jonah said.

"That's best ship name – _ever," _Natalie Kabra giggled.

"Don't be jelly _of Jellie," _Madison Holt said.

The intercom came on. "Jellie?" Nellie asked. "That's… an awesome name, but you realize every time you name a ship, Cora and Mary-Todd are up here doing baby names." She must've turned to someone else. "No, my son will not be named Theodore! ISABEL, DON'T SHOOT ME WITH THAT DART!" She clicked off.

Jonah grinned. "SHE DIDN'T REJECT THE SHIP! IT SAILS ITSELF!"

He began dancing on crutches.

"I won't be forever alone…" he sang.

**but when it came Dan couldn't tell what it was. It looked like gobs of Silly Putty in garlic butter.**

Jonah sat back down. "AND THEODORE IS A HORRIBLE NAME!"

Ian woke up. "What is the bloody yelling about?"

"Jellie," Natalie said. "Jonah and Nellie."

Ian shrugged. "I can see it."

"YES!"

**In a sad voice, Alistair explained how the Holts had ambushed him outside de Gaulle Airport and taken the **_**Poor Richard's Almanack. **_**"The barbarians hit me in the face and cracked one of my ribs.**

Reagan frowned. "We're not barbarians!"

**I really am getting too old for this sort of thing." He touched his bruised eyes.**

"**But… why is everyone trying to kill each other over that book?" Amy asked.**

"Because it's the easiest way to get the clue," Fiske said, "and the easiest way isn't always the best way."

"Words of wisdom," Phoenix whispered.

"**Aren't there other ways to find the clue? Like the invisible message we found in Philadelphia –"**

"**Amy!" Dan said. "Keep secrets much?"**

"**It's all right, my boy," Alistair said. "You're correct, of course, Amy.**

"Amy's always correct."

"How do I even begin to explain Amy Cahill?" Dan said.

"Amy Cahill is flawless," Hamilton said.

"She has two Rick Riordan books, and both of them are signed," Sinead said.

"I hear her hair is insured for $10,000," Natalie said.

"I hear she does book commercials," Ned said, _"in Japan." _

"Her favorite book is _The Lightning Thief," _Madison said

"One time, she met Ian Kabra in Korea," Reagan giggled, "and he told her she was lovely."

"One time she slapped me in the face," Ian said. "It was awesome."

Amy was giggling and blushing at the same time.

"Can we _read?" _Alistair asked.

"Obviously he has never seenMean Girls," Fiske brushed his hair out of his face.

**There are many possible paths toward the next clue. For instance, I found a message encoded in a famous portrait by – well, here, see for yourself."**

**Uncle Alistair reached into his coat and pulled out a paper. He unfolded a color print of a painting. It showed Benjamin Franklin as an old man in a red flowing robe, sitting in a thunderstorm, which seemed kind of dumb.**

"Well, he was a Lucian," Sinead commented.

Ian and Natalie frowned.

**A bunch of baby angels hovered around him – two at his feet, working on batteries, and three more right behind him, holding up a kite with a key on the string. Lightning zapped from the key into Ben's upright hand. Ben didn't look upset by this. His long gray hair was wild and frizzed out, so maybe he was used to getting shocked.**

"Sort of like Fiske's, except longer!" Reagan giggled.

Fiske smiled.

"**No way did it happen like that," Dan said. "With the angels and all."**

"**No, Dan," Alistair agreed.**

"I kind of figured," Phoenix grumbled to Reagan, who nodded.

"**It's symbolic. The painter, Benjamin West, meant to show Franklin as a hero for drawing lightning out of the sky. But there is more symbolism than I realized – signs hidden so deep only a Cahill could discover them. Look at Franklin's knee."**

Natalie pulled it up on her phone. The angels weren't as cute as she had imagined.

**Dan didn't see anything except a knee, but Amy gasped. "That shape in the fabric!"**

**Dan squinted and saw what she meant. Part of Franklin's knee was painted in a lighter shade of red, **

Phoenix and Jonah opened their mouths, but Hamilton cut them off by holding his hand in their faces.

**but it wasn't just a random blotch. It was a silhouette he'd seen many times.**

"**Whoa," he said. "The Lucian crest." **

**Nellie squinted. **

Jonah grinned.

"**That? That looks like one of those ladies on a trucker's mud flaps."**

"Leave it to Nellie to say that," Ian muttered.

Jonah frowned. "Don't mess with my lady."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I'm not."

"**No, it's two snakes wrapped around a sword," Amy said. "Trust me, if you've seen the Lucian crest, you'd recognize it."**

"**There's more," Alistair said. "Look at the paper Franklin is holding. Turn it upside down. There – brushed over with white paint, almost impossible to read."**

**Dan never would've noticed it if Alistair hadn't said something, but when he looked closely, he could see the faint shadow of words on the document in Franklin's hand.**

"How did you see that?" Dan asked Alistair. He shrugged.

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

"'**Paris'," he read. "'1785'."**

"**Exactly, my dear boy: a painting of Franklin with a key, the Cahill family crest, and the words **_**Paris 1785.**_** A significant hint."**

"**I would've never found this," Amy said in amazement.**

"PSHT, Amy is no longer flawless!" Jonah snapped, but Dan rolled his eyes.

"Amy and I are _always _flawless!"

**Alistair shrugged. "As you said, my dear, there are many possible hints, all leading us along the path to the second clue. Unfortunately, we Cahills would rather fight each other, steal information, and keep each other from getting ahead" – he shifted his weight and winced – "as my cracked rib and black eyes will testify."**

The Holt twins smirked.

"**But who buried all these hints in the first place?" Amy demanded. "Franklin?"**

**Alistair sipped his espresso. "I don't know, my dear. **

Ian found it very weird that Hamilton was calling Amy 'my dear'. Oh, jealousy didn't even explain it.

More like Hulk.

**If I were to guess, I'd say it is a hodgepodge, a collected effort by many Cahills over the centuries. Dear old Grace seems to be the one who wove them all together, thought why or how, I don't know. Whatever the final treasure is, the greatest Cahill minds have gone to a good deal of trouble to hide it. Or perhaps, as in the case of Benjamin Franklin, some of them are trying to lead us **_**toward **_**it. **

"Sounds like a Lucian," Dan said.

Ian rolled his eyes. "We Lucians prefer not to speak of this blood traitor."

**I suppose we will only know for certain when we find the treasure."**

"_**We?" **_**Dan said. **

"**I still believe we must have an alliance," Alistair said.**

"**Uh-uh." Nellie shook her head. "Don't trust this guy, kiddos. He's too smooth."**

Alistair rolled his eyes.

**Alistair laughed. "And you're an expert on **_**smooth, **_**my teenage babysitter?"**

"Au pair!" Dan corrected. "And she belongs with us! Not you!"

Alistair just shook his head.

"**Au pair!" Nellie corrected.**

**Alistair looked like he wanted to make another joke at her expense. Then he glanced at her lethal backpack and apparently changed his mind.**

Dan beamed.

"**The point is, children, our competitors have decided **_**you **_**are the team to beat."**

Dan batted his eyelashes and hugged Amy. "We're famous, darling sister!"

Amy tried to worm away. "Stop it!"

"**But why us?" Amy demanded.**

"Amy's demanding a lot," Fiske noted. Alistair nodded.

**Alistair shrugged. "You've been ahead of the game so far. You've escaped every trap. You were always Grace's favorites." His eyes glittered, like a starving man looking at a Big Mac. **

"Ooh, a Big Mac," Hamilton smiled.

"Read!" Natalie said. "Two more pages!"

"How did you…?"

"I've been counting."

"**Let's be honest, eh? We all believe Grace gave you inside information. She must have. Tell me what it is, and I can help you."**

Dan and Amy's faces burned red, and Dan's fist balled up.

**Dan clenched his fists. He remembered that video of Grace, how stunned he'd felt when she'd announced the contest. Grace **_**should **_**have given them inside information.**

"Oh?" Fiske asked, defending his sister's memory. "You would've been arrogant little pricks and would've gotten cocky. So – _no,_ she shouldn't have."

Dan slacked his fists, frowning.

**If she'd really loved them, she wouldn't have left them in the dark. The other teams were after them now because they though Amy and Dan were Grace's favorites. But apparently Grace hadn't cared about them. They were just another team in this big cruel game she'd cooked up. The more he'd thought about it, the more betrayed he felt. He looked at the jade necklace around Amy's neck. He wanted to yank it off and throw it away. His eyes started to burn.**

Fiske started to open his mouth and argue, but thought best of it and kept quiet as the two Cahills sat quietly, staring at the table.

"**We don't have inside information," he mumbled.**

"**Come now, my boy," Alistair said. "You **_**are **_**in danger. I could protect you. We could search the Catacombs together."**

"That's a bit creepy," Ian muttered and Amy giggled quietly.

"**We'll search by ourselves," Dan said.**

"**As you wish, my boy. But be aware: The Catacombs are huge. There are miles of tunnels. Most aren't even mapped. You can easily get lost down there. Special police patrol to keep out trespassers. Some of the tunnels are flooded. Others collapse from time to time. Searching for Franklin's clue in the Catacombs will be dangerous and futile unless" – he leaned forward and raised his eyebrows – "unless you **_**do **_**know something and haven't told me. The almanac had a note in the margin. It mentioned coordinates in a box. You wouldn't happen to know what this box that might be?"**

Hamilton paused for a second, taking a sip of his Gatorade, and then continued.

"**Even if we knew," Dan said, "we wouldn't tell you."**

"Snap," Jonah whispered.

**Amy touched the jade necklace at her collar. "Sorry, Uncle Alistair."**

"**I see," Alistair sat back. "I admire your spirit. But what if I were to… trade information? I'm sure you are wondering about those notes your mother made. I knew your parents. I could explain a few things."**

Amy looked down and twirled her necklace with her finger.

**Dan felt as if the air had turned to glass. He was afraid to move or he might get cut. "What few things?"**

**Alistair smiled, like he knew he'd hooked them. "Your mother's interest in the clues perhaps. Or what your father really did for a living."**

Amy squeezed Dan's hand. They were the only ones who knew about the Vespers right now…

"**He was a math professor," Amy said.**

"**Mmm." Alistair's smile was so irritating Dan was tempted to tell Nellie to whack him with the backpack again. **

Alistair flinched, as if expecting her from behind with the same lethal backpack.

"**Maybe you'd like to know about the night they died?"**

**The turkey-and-cheese sandwich churned in Dan's stomach. "What do you know about that?"**

Dan began to notice that no one was interrupting. Everyone was silent and listening and Hamilton found this extremely annoying.

"**Many years ago, your mother –" Alistair stopped abruptly. His eyes fixed on something across the street. "Children, we must continue this later. I believe you **_**should **_**look in the Catacombs yourself. I'll stay behind, as a show of good faith."**

**Alistair pointed with his cane. A hundred yards down the street, Ian and Natalie Kabra were pushing through the crowd, hurrying toward the Catacombs entrance. **

Natalie seemed to sit up higher, crossing her ankles.

"**I'll hold them off as long as I can," Alistair promised. "Now get underground quickly!"**

Hamilton sighed and slid the book to Natalie. "Since you love yourself so much, I think you should do the honors."


End file.
